DRUG DOG SNIFFS PLAINVIEW

Only Minor Hits Found During Search Of Local School

Ross, the Fort Payne Police Department's drug dog, made a surprise trip to
school Thursday morning to sniff out potential drug problems.

Ross and his handler, Fort Payne officer Lee Traylor, checked out lockers
and classrooms at Plainview High School, volunteering their time to help
the DeKalb County Drug Task Force in an unannounced visit to the school.

Traylor and Ross arrived at the school at 8:30 a.m., along with Task Force
officer Mitch Dendy, County Deputy Paul Bell and Rainsville Assistant Chief
Joel York and officer Randy Waldrop.

After checking in at the office to enlist the aid of principal Felicia
Boland and assistant principal Randall Gourdoze, Ross led the way down the
hall and the search was on.

As the group looked on, Traylor gave Ross his instructions and the dog
began methodically sniffing each locker in the upper and lower rows. Ross
showed a slight interest in a couple of lockers, which were opened and
searched, along with the six surrounding lockers, by Boland and Gourdoze.

"These lockers aren't airtight," Traylor said, "and the smell [of drugs]
doesn't always stay in a single locker."

The scent, he said, could be stronger in an adjoining locker than in the
one where drugs were actually present.

Nothing was found in the lockers searched, and the group went from the main
building into the new science building, where another group of lockers was
checked.

No strong hits were made by Ross, but he once again showed slight interest
in a few lockers which were searched and found to be drug-free.

Then, at Boland's request, Ross was taken upstairs into the building to a
classroom where students were asked to take off their jackets and leave the
room to stand in the hallway while the dog was inside at work.

Ross was led up and down the rows of seats in the empty classroom, checking
out each desk, coat and textbook. Nothing caught his attention, but
students crowded outside the door for a look at the drug dog in action.

After checking out another classroom, Traylor led Ross back outside. The
dog's work was done.

Periodically during the morning's search, Traylor and Ross went outdoors,
away from the group, for a short play and exercise period. This, Dendy
said, was to keep Ross's enthusiasm high and to give him a rest.

"The dogs can only work for a certain period of time without a break,"
Dendy explained, "because of the intensity of their searching and sniffing."

Ross's surprise visit was the first time a drug dog has been taken into
Plainview School, and Dendy was pleased the search turned up no drugs.

"Even when we don't find anything, these unannounced visits serve as a good
deterrent in the schools," he said. "They don't know when we'll be back,
and even when no drugs are found, it discourages them being brought to
school later on."

Gourdoze was pleased with the unexpected visit by the task force, and
agreed seeing the dog in action was one of the best possible ways to keep
students from bringing drugs into the school.

"Seeing the dog, and knowing he may show up unannounced at any time, will
make the students think twice," he said, " and maybe they won't do it."

Gourdoze said school officials had hoped for a surprise drug search, and
said Ross and the task force would be welcome visitors at the school
whenever they chose.

"It wouldn't bother us a bit if they pop in whenever they're ready," he said.

Ross, a male Labrador retriever, is 3 years old and is trained in the
detection of drugs of all types.

He lives with Traylor, who regularly trains with him to keep him in
practice. Ross and Traylor have helped conduct school searches and other
details with the drug task force on numerous occasions, and Ross has an
outstanding record of successful "hits" during his assignments.

"This dog has been a great help to the task force," Dendy said. "He's
played a major role in our efforts against drugs in DeKalb County."