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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Police appeal for sniffer dogs
Ananova
Tuesday 22 Jan 2002 Scotland Yard has launched an appeal to dog owners to consider using their pets in the fight against drug dealers and terrorists. They are appealing for 30 animals who will become so-called "sit and stare" sniffer dogs. Police say "naughty" and "robust" dogs who have exhausted their owners' patience will make ideal candidates. They want to recruit "energetic and lively Cocker Spaniels, Springer Spaniels and Labradors aged between one and two years". Many of them will work at airports and ports. The new "sit and stare" training method has been described as a "formidable and flexible" weapon for law enforcement. It will allow the dogs to alert their handlers to suspects by sitting down next to them and looking at them. Sergeant Ian Macparland, of the Metropolitan Police Dog Training Establishment, said: "Due to the success of our dog training courses we have a huge demand for places from a variety of agencies who will go to work in the field of drugs, currency and explosives detection." "We have just been very successful, particularly with the sit and stare dogs, so we always need more." The dogs are not just for Scotland Yard, which currently has 35 specialised search dogs, but also for Customs and Excise and the Prison Service. The new dogs will mainly be used in narcotics, but will also replace those retiring from bomb squads. "For our purposes the best dogs are the more robust, attention seeking and naughty dogs who people may feel are too much bother," said Sgt Macparland. He said spaniels and labradors "have got a good nose and are socially acceptable". Police cannot retrain their own German shepherd dogs because they have been trained in retrieving.
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