LAB EXPERIMENT: DRUG-SNIFFING DOG GOES TO SCHOOL FULL-TIME

EDMONTON - "Ebon-e-e-e. Want to work?"

The 11-month-old black Labrador retriever snoozing on the carpet opens
her big brown eyes, stretches her legs, wags her tail.

She sniffs at packages scattered on the floor and plunks her rear down
next to a black CD case, where Const. Doug Green has hidden some drugs.

He tosses her a bit of leftover wiener. More wagging.

Then Edmonton's first full-time school drug dog goes into her schtick
- -- she circles around and sits back down, fishing for another hot dog.
And again.

"When she pulls this act, the kids just swarm her," says Green, an
Edmonton police school resource officer at Harry Ainlay high school.

"What makes Ebony unique is that she's the first dog that actually
comes, stays and lives at a high school."

Since April, when Green and his happy-go-lucky partner have been on
the job, the number of students suspended for drugs has fallen --
three this year from 18 last year.

The pilot project, Dogs for Drug Free Schools, was recently approved
by Edmonton Catholic Schools and is being considered by Edmonton
Public Schools.

Green started the project to curtail growing use of illicit drugs on
school campuses. The pair appeared Friday at a conference on safe
schools held by the Alberta Association of School Resource Officers at
the Westin Hotel.

"We noticed a higher than normal use of marijuana in our schools. We
were suspending kids repetitively, sometimes three and four times.

"The attitude seemed to be that the consequences were minimal. The
tactics we tried before weren't working and identifying the users was
difficult, so we tried to think outside the box."

Green, who once trained police dogs, said Ebony isn't like the
snarling German shepherds police traditionally used to scour lockers
for drugs in hit-and-miss searches. "When I was a dog handler, many
times we'd roar into schools with the police dogs and we'd put on a
big performance, close down the hallways and the kids would all be
terrified.

"But the long-term effect on the kids wasn't there."

Green put in a proposal to Edmonton police to try a passive dog
approach, using a friendly, face-licking lab.

"The primary focus of what we're setting out to do is not to arrest
kids and to search the school to find drugs but to try and change behavior."

Green said he doesn't care if Ebony never finds drugs at school.

"This little dog is going to teach these kids that she can find their
dope. We don't want them to bring their dope to school."

To make the point, Ebony will demonstrate her abilities while Green
lectures student assemblies on the dangers of drugs.

'CHANGING BEHAVIOUR'

Forty schools are waiting for the pair to make their presentations,
which Green says has a profound effect on students. "I have kids who
do and sell drugs tell me they're changing their behaviour."

Carol Mayne, a teacher at Louis St. Laurent school, says students
adore the dog. "She gets swarmed. She comes through and everybody
wants to pet her and touch her," she said.

Lori Nagy, spokeswoman for Edmonton Catholic Schools, said the
one-year pilot project was approved for the board's nine high schools
two weeks ago. The board is now sending letters home to parents.

"It's part of our district's efforts to teach about the dangers of
drugs," Nagy said.

The district doesn't have a major problem with narcotics, she said,
but "we'd be naive to think drugs don't exist."

Besides the presentations on drugs, Green and Ebony may be asked by
school principals to conduct walk-throughs of hallways and unoccupied
classrooms.

If the dog smells drugs in a locker, it's up to the principal whether
a search will be done, Nagy said. Under district policy, principals
have the right to search lockers on school property.

Green said the school can decide to investigate or simply file the
information for future use.

"We don't want this to be an enforcement tool. We want it to be an
education tool.

"We can't control drug use 24 hours a day but we'd like to stop them
doing it for our eight hours a day at school."

Green sees the project one day expanding to include four dogs.

Jane Farrell, spokeswoman for Edmonton Public Schools, said the board
is exploring the idea but no decision has been made. She said the
board is consulting with parents.

Educators at Friday's safe schools conference heard another Edmonton
police officer describe a looming battle with drugs at schools and on
streets.

"Methamphetamine is a tidal wave that's starting to hit us hard," said
drug unit Det. Darryl Yacey, who adds violence almost always
accompanies drugs. Brass knuckles, Tasers and knives have already been
taken from high school students. Drugs are also fuelling crimes such
as burglaries and identity theft, he said.

Between 1999 and 2003, the amount of methamphetamine seized by
Edmonton police soared to more than 37,000 grams from about 800 grams.

He said education was key to stopping the epidemic and called for
people to pressure politicians to make it harder to buy large
quantities of the ingredients needed to make the drug, such as
pseudoephedrine, acetone, ether, red phosphorus and hydriodic acid.