Marathon of Threats Exhaust Pa. Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

They've become known as the "Pitt police dogs," but they've come from dozens of law enforcement agencies all over Western Pennsylvania.

The police dogs, including German shepherds, Labrador retrievers and Belgian Malinois, have worked more than 40 bomb threats at all hours on the University of Pittsburgh campus since Feb. 13, capturing the hearts of people in the campus community.

"These dogs have become the heroes of this story, and they don't even know it," said Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney. "They just keep working and working. They don't get enough credit."

A task force of local, state and federal authorities worked on Tuesday to learn who is behind the threats, which have targeted academic buildings and dorms, including numerous threats to the 42-story Cathedral of Learning. There were no threats yesterday, snapping a string of eight straight days of threats. No explosives have been found.

Delaney said shortly after the threats began, he "knew this was more than we could handle" with one police dog. The Pitt department has one K-9 handler, Officer Dave Nanz, and Delaney asked him to reach out to his counterparts around the region. Nanz's partner, Riggs, is a black Labrador retriever.

Bomb-sniffing dogs and their handlers began arriving immediately, Delaney said, and were split into shifts. Depending on the dogs' training and capabilities, the weather and the type of building being searched, some dogs can work as little as 30 minutes or as much as four hours, said Pittsburgh police K-9 Sgt. Chris Micknowski, who has worked bomb threat shifts at Pitt with his Belgian Malinois, Bartje.

The dogs typically nap between shifts. Beaver County Sheriff's Office Deputy Joe Osche and his German shepherd, Bak, have worked eight-hour shifts and then driven an hour home each day during the rash of bomb threats. "We're tired, but we train for this," Osche said.

Though students are increasingly frustrated, their support for those ensuring their safety is growing. After a Pitt dormitory was evacuated during the weekend for a bomb threat, a group of students put dog treats in an empty pizza box for the police dogs searching the building. Others are collecting treats and pet store gift cards.

Students and others banded together on a Facebook page called "We Support the Pitt Police," which had more than 3,700 fans yesterday. Senior Alexander Rhodes said he started the page as a way for students to show their appreciation for police. He said he's working with the university to put up a banner on campus thanking the police.

"It's hard for the students, but it's even harder for (the police)," said Rhodes, 22, of Highland Park.

The university plans to put up the banner today, he said. Another banner will be available at the William Pitt Union for students to sign before being presented to Delaney on Monday, Rhodes said.

A blog that Downtown market researcher Andrew Fournaridis created has become an online hub for sharing information about the threats. His "Stop the Pitt Bomb Threats" site received 275,000 hits in a week, he said. The university is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

"There's a little bit of therapeutic value," he said. "People like talking and exchanging ideas and knowing they're not alone out there and being scared about this."

Delaney said his 75 officers are exhausted. In the midst of the run of threats, six officers were first to confront a gunman at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic on March 8. John Shick, 30, opened fire and killed a therapist and wounded five others before dying in a shootout with Pitt police. Another Pitt officer was injured in a fall during the incident.

"These men and women have really stepped up and performed like the heroes they are," Delaney said. "They haven't complained. They've just done their jobs under tremendous stress and pressure, and I'm very proud."

Staff writer Margaret Harding contributed to this report.