WORCESTER POLICE GET NEW DRUG-SNIFFING DOG

WORCESTER-- Police dog Xvroni spent about five years patrolling and
ferreting out drugs. The award-winning German shepherd had to be
retired a few weeks ago because of allergies and intestinal illnesses.

"Very few dogs have gotten as many drugs and seizures as she's done,"
Officer Stephen C. Cortis said this week. He hopes his newest dog,
Brie, will have the same nose for drugs.

Xvroni, at about 7-1/2-years old, is young for a dog, but Officer
Cortis said her health problems prevent her from doing her job.
Officer Cortis, who trains his dogs, opted to retire his companion
and give her to a friend who could care for her.

"It's hard to do," he said. "Xvroni wouldn't really get along with
another dog and it would be hard not to take her to work."

So Xvroni is now in the care of Susan C. Genoa LaFlash, kennel
manager at Westside Animal Clinic on Mill Street. She knows how to
take care of Xvroni and has always been a big fan of the police dog,
having saved newspaper stories about Xvroni's drug finds over the years.

This week, at the former Best Western Yankee Drummer Inn of Auburn,
Officer Cortis took Brie out for training. Officer Cortis and Brie,
Deputy Sheriff Joseph F. Coggans and his dog, Ruckus, from the
Worcester County Sheriff's Department, and Westminster police Officer
Richard Michel and his dog, Cody, used the old hotel on Southbridge
Street to conduct several tests with their dogs.

Brie, an 11-month-old Belgian Malinois, is being trained as a drug
dog. She has about eight more weeks of training before she will be
ready to hit the streets. In the meantime, the department is without
a certified police dog.

At the hotel Monday, the trainers placed a small bag of marijuana
with a towel wrapped around it in a tree behind the building. With
one quick command from Officer Cortis, Brie quickly went on a search
for the drugs.

With her fox-colored fur gleaming in the sunlight, Brie circled a
large area near the tree. She then moved closer and closer until she
stood underneath the bag of marijuana, barking loudly. Officer Cortis
moved the tree branch down a little, and the dog jumped out and
snatched the drugs from the tree.

"She will be unbelievable. Her potential is the greatest," Officer
Cortis said. "We use places like this to search through hotel rooms.
There are also kitchen areas that have a lot of the old odors and the
dogs have to work those kinds of environments."

Brie came from Antwerp, Belgium, on March 23, at a cost of $3,000.
For many years, the department's canine force has been fortunate to
receive donations. Officer Cortis said food and other expenses are
paid through donations -- which he is always willing to receive to
help the dog unit.

After the 12-hour flight, Officer Cortis bonded with Brie for about a
week, then it was time to start the 10-week training program.

Brie will be trained to find marijuana, hashish, heroin and cocaine,
Officer Cortis said. Almost half of the training consists of training
with marijuana because it is so pungent, he said.

Towels are saturated in the smell of marijuana and the actual drug
itself is placed on the dog's nose so she can get used to the smell.
Brie will play tug-of-war with the towels so she associates the smell
with the reward of playing.

"We take the rolled-up towel and tie it to the marijuana and hide it
in different places," Officer Cortis said. She'll be taught to dig
for hidden drugs, find them in cars or planes and find the drugs in trees.

Once Brie is used to the odor of marijuana, Officer Cortis will
introduce the smells of cocaine and heroin, he said. The officer is
careful during training with those two drugs. The drugs are not put
on the dog's nose because they could kill her, he said.

With Band-Aids on his hands from the nips he receives during
training, Officer Cortis said because of hidden compartments and
other drug activity the city is always in need of a drug-sniffing
dog. He said Brie should do well, especially because of her breed.

"Malinois are a very high-drive dog. They love to search and hunt,"
he said. "They have a very uncanny ability to work for hours and hours on end."