Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Lab Retriever Lou Joins Summit County Drug Detection Unit

By Ron Williams


Lou is the most recent member to join in on the Summit County drug unit. The county Sheriff's Office swore in the Labrador retriever a week ago to replace Coco, a soon to retire canine member. A detection dog or sniffer dog such as Lou is surely an invaluable asset to the drug unit because of its great sense of smell which allows it to detect illegal drugs instantly and also with the least disruption to the public. In accordance with this News Leader report, Lou will be trained carefully by his trainer so that he can take on the duties that his predecessor was working on for the Sheriff's office.

Lou was purchased from a Western Reserve area dog breeder with funds contributed by an Akron attorney that requested that he be named after his brother. The Sheriff's Office paid $2000 for him considering that he was an untrained puppy. A totally experienced canine could very well be priced upwards of $5000, say sources within the Sheriff's office. Detective Keith Gowens shall be Lou's handler and the dog will be lodging with the Gowens family. The detective states that it is really important for the handler to create a close working relationship with his dog to make sure that they make a valuable human- canine team when on the job.

Lou's Training and Certification

Lou's coaching aren't going to be limited to the steps that detective Gowens puts him through. The dog will also undergo a structured training curriculum at an private training center. This will prepare him for the state certification test. Once Lou clears this test, he will gain more standing as a drug detection dog. This will help significantly if evidence revealed by Lou has to be introduced in court during a trial. Included in his training Lou will also be taken out in the field by Gowens while he is working.

Summit County's K9 Squad

Summit County Sheriff's Office has four deputies working here full time as well as a few dogs. The dogs have been trained in bomb detection, tracking and officer protection in addition to drug detection. Every single dog is regarded as an important part of the force here and is treated as the handling officer's partner. Uniquely equipped patrol cars enable the canines to do the rounds along with their human partners when working.

Labs- The Ideal Breed for Drug Detection

Labrador retrievers are a perfect breed of canines for drug detection as well as related work. These dogs are among the most intelligent of this specie and also have a very highly developed sense of smell. Drug detection lab retrievers can actually pin point individual scents so that even though an illegal drug is masked by strong odor producing substances, the canine can typically sniff it out. The fact that retrievers are renowned for their obedience as well as loyalty only makes these dogs the most suitable choice for drug detection training where performing in perfect coordination with mankind is crucial. Labrador Retrievers are also very friendly and confident dogs by nature and this helps profoundly through the training phase.




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