Pubdate: Sun, 29 Apr 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Matthew Chin
Note: News from Upland in the Times Community Newspapers

DOGS WILL NOSE AROUND UPLAND SCHOOLS

District Officials Hope That Presence Of Trained Detection Animals Will 
Prevent Drugs And Other Contraband From Appearing On Campuses.

A quartet of golden retrievers will make regular, unannounced visits to 
Upland's junior high and high schools next school year to sniff out any 
drugs and weapons brought on campus.

The Upland Unified School Board unanimously approved hiring Interquest 
Detection Canines at Tuesday's meeting after a demonstration from the dogs' 
main handler, Christine Hazelton of San Diego.

At the meeting, Hazelton had one of her dogs find a bag that had a gun and 
bullets hidden inside.

The highly trained detective dogs' visits are meant to make students think 
twice about bringing drugs, alcohol or weapons to school.

"We don't want to react after something happens; we want to be proactive," 
Upland Supt. Pete Watson said.

The dogs sniff school areas, cars, lockers and students' backpacks. They 
never smell people.

Students suspected of bringing drugs or weapons are brought to the school 
office, where an administrator can search their belongings. Students who 
are caught are subject to expulsion from the district.

Hazelton charges $400 a day, which can include visits to two schools, she 
said. The dogs will make monthly trips to Upland and Hillside high schools 
and Upland and Pioneer junior high schools.

Interquest, a Houston-based company, has 86 dogs working in offices in 14 
states. Five offices are in California.

Hazelton's dogs Bandit, Ruki, Conan and Kiyoti visit more than 100 schools 
throughout San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties. Her 
clients include schools in Fontana Unified School District and Central 
School District in Rancho Cucamonga.

The dogs' keen noses can detect the presence of illicit drugs including 
marijuana, LSD and cocaine. They also can smell alcoholic beverages and 
commonly abused legal drugs, such as Valium and Ritalin, Hazelton said.

They can detect traces of gunpowder, black powder and flash powder.

Fontana Unified Chief of School Police Patrick McCurry added that he's seen 
a significant decrease in illegal drugs and guns and attributes both 
declines to the dogs.

"We've found no guns on campus this year," McCurry said. "When I started 
here in 1997, sometimes we may have found a couple in a month."

Hazelton began working in Fontana's junior high and high schools in September.

At the start of the year, the dogs are introduced to the students in an 
assembly showing their capabilities, and they are warned the dogs will make 
random visits to schools throughout the year.

"I think we got as much mileage out of the assemblies as [we did from] the 
dogs coming on campus," McCurry said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom