NARCS THAT BARK

Sally and Boston make up the K-9 drug-busting force for the Hennepin County
Sheriff's Office, and they have recovered illegal drugs worth millions of
dollars.

Sally and Boston are narcotics officers, and they have the badges to prove
it. But to them, fighting crime is just a game.

``They're very competitive and that's why they're such good dope dogs,''
said Boston's partner, who isn't being identified because he works
undercover. ``When we're on a crime scene, it's a contest between the dogs
to see who wins.''

Sally, who was certified in May as a K-9 officer with the Hennepin County
Sheriff's Office, was recently cited -- a little early -- for an
outstanding rookie year. To date, she has recovered more than $850,000 in
illegal drugs.

She also got a new name this month, thanks to a dog-naming contest
sponsored by Milk Bone, the company that paid about $6,000 to train Sally
for law-enforcement duties. She was once called Ally, but now she's Sally
- -- and to her, the new name probably sounds about the same. Naming rights
were won by children at the Saints Peter and Paul School in Loretto.

Boston, a 2 1/2-year drug-sniffing veteran, is ``far into the millions'' in
drug recoveries, his partner said. That includes nearly $500,000 in cash
that Boston successfully detected because the money was contaminated with
drug smells.

Sally, a yellow Labrador, and Boston, an American water spaniel, make up
the entire K-9 drug-busting force for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Both dogs work for fun -- or, to be more specific, for the chance to play
with special ``reward'' toys. For Sally, it's a tennis ball, and for
Boston, the best thing in life is a squeaky toy.

A willingness to play, in fact, probably saved the lives of both dogs. The
Ramsey County Humane Society had slated Boston for destruction three years
ago, when he was spotted by Jan Ballard, a local animal trainer who
specializes in police K-9 work. Ballard also selected Sally for training
about a year ago while the dog was with the Animal Humane Society of
Hennepin County.

Sally and Boston are what their partners call ``passive'' narc dogs --
trained to sit when they smell such drugs as cocaine, crack cocaine,
methamphetamine, marijuana or hallucinogenic mushrooms. ``They can detect a
trace odor for several months,'' Sally's partner said.

Both dogs live with their law-enforcement partners. ``Working with her is
the only way I could have a dog,'' Sally's partner said. ``Otherwise, I
wouldn't be able to handle her care because of my weird working hours.''

``I have the best of both worlds,'' said Boston's partner. ``I work in a
job that I love, and my dog gets to come to work with me.''