After reading this article, I got the impression that this guy just said, "Hey maybe I'll certify in narcotics today, sign me up for the test." After reading the comments, other people are getting that impression also. Does anyone know the real story? If that's the case, this will just hurt the credibility of all the guys and gals that literally put in hundreds of hours of real training for themselves and their dogs.
Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks
By Dennis Shaughnessey, Article Last Updated: 04/07/2008 12:19:07 PM EDT
DRACUT -- He's padding his resume, but don't expect town officials to give him a raise. Mason, the 3-year-old German shepherd who works for the Dracut Police Department for kibble, recently returned from a weeklong training seminar in Burlington, N.C., with Dracut K-9 Officer William Bailey and is now certified in narcotics detection. He now has the capability to sniff out marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Bailey and Mason originally went to North Carolina to hone the dog's scent-discriminating skills and to upgrade his certification in urban trailing. While there, Bailey inquired about narcotics certification. He signed up for an exam that was to be given the next day. "He passed with flying colors," Bailey said. "Mason exceeded everyone's expectations and was certified right there on the spot."
In addition to his duties as a scent-discriminating dog, able to determine the scent of a missing person as well as criminal suspects, he is now in a position to search for narcotics in vehicles, schools and other buildings -- "wherever he's needed," Bailey said. "It's a huge asset to law enforcement, especially in Lowell because they run their dogs at night and Mason and I are usually available during the day," Bailey added. The examination consisted of trailing a scent for 1 1/2 miles in an urban setting that included a minimum of 13 direction changes and must be completed in an hour and a half. The trick is to do it after waiting a minimum of 24 hours.
Scheduling conflicts made it impossible for Mason to try it the first day, Bailey said. By the second day, the trail was 48 hours old. Wind also played a factor. "He nailed it," Bailey said, showing an overlay schematic of the suspect's route and the dog's route. "You can see by the blue line that he follows the suspect's red line almost every step of the way. And this is two days later." Dracut Police Chief Kevin Richardson called Mason's certification "a great tool for us to use in the war on drugs." "Mason is just a great dog," Richardson added. "Everybody loves him. Kids love him. Old ladies love him. The only people that don't love him are the bad guys." Even before his certification in narcotics, Mason had been called upon to participate in urban trailing in surrounding communities, including recent bank heists and break-ins in Lowell. During a February bank robbery on Bridge Street in Lowell, Mason tracked a suspect through a neighborhood several blocks long and identified the precise spot where the culprit got into a car and fled. Witnesses were able to identify the vehicle, and the robber was captured. The training in North Carolina gave Bailey much more confidence in Mason. In the two years they've been partners, his trust has increased every day. During a recent Lowell break-in, Bailey said officers were telling him the suspect went to the left of the building. Mason was pulling to the right. "I told them, 'The dog knows what he's doing,'" Bailey said. The guy was hiding on the right side of the building. "Mason knows exactly what he's doing," Bailey reiterated, adding that the Lowell Police Department is expert in setting up perimeters that make his job easy. "I'm really the one who needed the training when you get right down to it. He's doing all the right things. I just have to know how to read what he's trying to tell me." Mason, who was rescued as a puppy during Hurricane Katrina, came to Dracut in 2006 as part of an $8,000 grant from the Mason Foundation. The Masons are expected to reimburse the town for the dog's recent training.
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