It sounds like the dream job – work for four years and then retire to a life of ease. And for one member of the Hawaii Police Department, that’s just the deal. On the other hand, this officer will be eating dog food for the rest of his life…
Diesel, an 8-year old Labrador retriever, is handing over his vest and badge as of July 31st. He’s been a top narcotics sniffing dog for the department since February of 2007. During his service, Diesel helped get about 8lbs of meth, 20lbs of marijuana, 3lbs of cocaine and enough heroin to dope up half the island. He was also involved in the confiscation of about a quarter-million in cash and 20 motor vehicles. That is one valuable dog – especially if he has the ability to sniff out cash.
In his time, Diesel has worked with a slew of other law enforcement agencies, including the DEA, Customs, the FBI and even the Secret Service. (Wasn’t there a presidential visit last year?) He’s also been a great community outreach asset and has been seen in parades, community events and in the DARE program. That’s a full and exciting life for a dog.
At eight, Diesel is expected to live several more years. He’ll be spending his retirement in Waimea.
The retirement might have come at just the right time. Earlier this year, a study at UC Davis showed that handlers influence their dogs, resulting in false alerts – lots of them. The study, published in the journal, Animal Cognition, used a church as a backdrop where handlers were fed misleading information. No drugs, bombs or other illegal items were present, but the dogs alerted 200 times (18 different teams). The study proposes that the animals are picking up subtle clues from their handlers when they make false positives. If upheld, this study may call into question the legality of using sniffer dogs as probable cause for searches.
