NEW DRUG DETECTION DOG JOINS THE LAWRENCEBURG POLICE FORCE

LAWRENCEBURG - Students at Ingram Sowell Elementary School discovered
Tuesday that when it comes to drugs, Chad, the newest police officer
on the Lawrenceburg force, is not only quick on his four feet but also
knows the difference between sausage and marijuana.

Watched by students, DARE Officer Tina Jack placed a sweet smelling
sausage and biscuit and a plastic pouch of marijuana beneath separate
boxes in the school gym during a special assembly. Then she invited
Chad and his handler, Officer Michael Kilpatrick, to try and find the
box which contained illegal drugs with a street value of $200.

In less than a minute, Chad, sniffing only briefly at the juicy
sausage, leaped over to the box containing marijuana and proudly nosed
it out for his handler who promptly gave him a reward.

"He thinks it is just a big game," Kilpatrick said as he rubbed the
slick fur of the black lab. "Dogs have a great sense of smell. They
can smell 10 times better than we can. People hide drugs in all kinds
of different places and think they can fool the dog, but they can't."

Illegal drugs, whether crack cocaine, meth, heroin or marijuana,
really don't mean anything to a dog, the officer said, explaining that
drug dogs are trained simply for the smell.

Chad just joined the Lawrenceburg Police Department after spending two
months of intensive drug training in Huntsville, Ala. He is replacing
another black lab named Reggie, who has just retired after spending
almost 11 years on the Lawrenceburg force with his handler, Officer
Scott Durham.

And while Reggie may have retired, Durham has not. He is currently
assigned to the 22nd judicial drug task force now, according to Police
Chief Terry R. Shay.

"Reggie is retired and enjoying the good life now, but we let Scott
keep him because there was such a bond," Shay said, adding that the
months ahead will see even more dogs being used by police departments
to detect drugs or explosives.

"A good K-9 is the cheapest patrol officer you can have," Shay said.
"It is a great investment. Their sense of smell is unreal."