DOGS SNIFFING OUT CRIMINALS

Drug smugglers don't have to worry about looking into the snarling
face of an angry dog to know they've been nabbed -- it's the hounds
that quietly sit next to their luggage they have to fear.

"When (smugglers) pat the nice dog that just sat down next to them,
they probably don't realize the dog just indicated he may have
detected drugs," said Gordon Luchia of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

Just last week, the CCRA celebrated the 25th anniversary of the
Detector Dog Service.

"The service is an integral part of our contraband detection force,"
said Alan Nymark, Commissioner of the CCRA.

"The special skills and abilities of these canines help us stop drugs
and firearms from being smuggled into our communities."

The Detector Dog Service began as a pilot project in Windsor, Ont., in
1978 with just three detector dogs.

Today, the program has grown to 46 detector-dog teams strategically
located across Canada.

Calgary has two, said Luchia.

"They do the airports in Edmonton and Calgary and there's a third dog
at the Coutts border crossing," he explained.

The detector-dog teams work everywhere that people and goods enter
Canada, and just this year canines assisted customs inspectors in
detecting more than 500 drug and firearm seizures worth $125 million.

In one of the biggest hauls, a detector-dog team found $87.5 million
of the illegal drug ecstasy concealed among sacks of potato starch in
a marine container.

The dog's sense of smell is so acute, said Luchia, it can pick up the
scent even if an innocent person has brushed against someone who has
used or carried drugs.

"Smugglers try all sorts of things to try and hide or mask the scent
of drugs, but the dogs can get by all that," Luchia said.

In addition to sniffing out dope, the Canadian-trained dogs --
Labrador retrievers are favoured for the work -- are also taught to
identify firearms and explosive materials.

The CCRA is recognized worldwide as a leader in border management and
the dogs are so well trained that other countries, such as the U.S.
and European locations, come to Canada so their hounds can receive the
same lessons.

Luchia said the dogs combine their sniffing attributes with an ability
to quickly sort through throngs of travellers.

Detector-dog teams also conduct demonstrations at schools to provide
information to young Canadians about the dangers of drug abuse.