DOGS JOIN DARE COUNTY'S WAR AGAINST ILLICIT DRUGS

MANTEO - Jack Scarboro ugh crouched in a wh ite van Wednesday morning
beside Astor, a German shepherd who was busy sniffing for drugs.

Scarborough, an officer with the Dare County Sheriff's Office, repeatedly
tapped the ceiling and commande d Astor to ju mp up.

The dog immediately found the hidden drug and started scratching to let
Scarborough know. The officer tossed Astor his reward - a piece of
firehose. They jumped out of the van, the last vehicle in the exercise.

It was t hen Ayka's turn to look for cocaine, marijuana and heroin planted
in impounded vehicles behind the county's detention center for training.

Astor, Ayka and fellow German shep herd Casper are three new members of the
Dare County Sheriff's Office. Trained in tracking people and detecting
narcotics, they are the first canines o n the force since its one detection
dog retired six years ago.

They have been working alongside th eir handlers s ince mid-April, when the
officers completed three weeks of train ing with their canine partners. The
officers say the dogs already are mak ing a difference