POLICE DOGS MAY GO FULL-TIME IN SOME AREA HIGH SCHOOLS

Board Considers Sheriff's Proposal In Order To Detect Drugs, Weapons

Labrador retrievers sniffing for drugs and weapons may be brought into
high schools this year if the school board approves a proposal by the
Union County Sheriff's Office.

The Union County Board of Education heard about the idea at its
meeting Monday. Some board members raised concerns about the dogs
biting or acting aggressively toward students.

But the two Labradors the sheriff's office is acquiring aren't trained
to bark or snap if they detect a suspicious scent, said Deputy Christy
Baucom.

Far from it: These dogs will lie down and look at their handler to
signal a scent.

"It's a family pet," Baucom said. "His game and play time is to find
drugs."

The proposed program would have the dogs in two of the county's six
high schools, Piedmont and Weddington, full-time, said Baucom.
Piedmont and Weddington were selected because they are already staffed
by the sheriff's school resource officers.

Last year, dogs were used at the high schools countywide for random
drug searches only a few times.

The dogs would help uncover drugs already in the schools and work as a
deterrent, Baucom said.

The fully trained dogs would cost $3,800 each. Local businesses have
pledged to buy the dogs and cover other costs related to the animals,
including kennel construction, vaccinations and grooming, said Sheriff
Eddie Cathey. Cathey said if the school board approves the program,
the sheriff's office will then pursue the pledges to fund the program.

The dogs would be trained to detect scents of substances that include
marijuana, cocaine, heroin and gunpowder.