Trained Dogs Show Law Enforcement the Money, Will Work for Treats
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has long used trained dogs to sniff out currency in vehicles en route to or from other countries.
But now law enforcement agencies are increasingly doing so within the U.S., seizing substantial amounts of cash and and gaining evidence for drug and money-laundering cases, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. They also help sniff out travelers illegally carrying large amounts of cash on their person or in airline baggage.
Trained to alert to the smell of the paper and ink used to print money, a black labrador retriever known as Cooper, for example, helped Broward County sheriff’s department catch a suspect traveler carrying $100,000 in currency on her person at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, says his handler, Sgt. Jeff Cirminiello.
Like other canines, the dog is, of course, unfamiliar with the concept of what money can buy and willingly works for a chance to play with a rubber toy that has an irregular bounce and can be stuffed with food:
“He’ll find $100,000, but all he wants is a $5 Kong,” Cirminiello tells the newspaper.
