Source: Calgary Sun (Canada) Contact: http://www.canoe.ca/CalgarySun/ Copyright: 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership. Pubdate: 27 Oct 1998 Author: Bill Kaufmann WOMAN SAYS CUSTOMS DOG HAS BAD SNIFFER A Canada Customs drug-sniffing dog is a dope that can't get its grass straight, says Rebecca Wolfchild. But Customs officials doggedly insist their four-legged helper had the goods on Wolfchild when it sat down beside her at the Calgary International Airport Oct. 7. That's supposed to be a cue to the dog's handlers it found drugs or explosives, but Wolfchild says the animal likely mistook the odor of ceremonial sweetgrass for something a lot more sinister. And Wolfchild, a contractor doing renovations at the airport, says the mixup has cost her three weeks' work after Customs officials -- without searching her -- told her she couldn't enter secure areas of the airport. "I told them they're welcome to look through my clothes and our bags but they said their dog was 99.9 percent accurate and they didn't have to," said Wolfchild, 30, adding she's never done drugs or associated with those who have. Canada Customs spokesman Gordon Luchia said they're prohibited from searching someone unless they're an inbound passenger. Reflecting on how she might have drawn the canine's attention, Wolfchild said her daily morning burning of sweetgrass, used to spiritually purify, might have fooled the dog. "People have come into my home and said the sweetgrass smells like marijuana," said Wolfchild, a Dene originally from the Northwest Territories. "My security status and reputation have been compromised," she said. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski