Shelter Dog Gets New Life as Ala. Narcotics Canine

Feb. 21--Bear, a 2-year-old black Labrador retriever, was the troublemaker of the shelter. He was rambunctious and would hardly sit still. He was becoming a problem for workers at the local humane society.

He was exactly what Dustain Vance was looking for. Bear was an unwanted, mischievous dog when Vance, head trainer for Advance Canine Academy in Scottsville, adopted and trained him.

Now, Bear is in his first week at his new home in Alabama, where he's a narcotics canine for the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Today, Bear discovered a half-pound of marijuana in a package, Vance said.

Vance trains dogs for about 20 law enforcement agencies a year, but he rarely gets canines from an animal shelter. Most are shipped from Slovakia and a handful come from Germany. So, Bear was a special case, Vance said.

"This is the first one we've run across in a long time; I'd love to get every one from the shelter," he said. "It takes a very, very special dog that can do this kind of work."

Vance's friend, who is a police officer in Bowling Green, came across Bear when he was looking to adopt a pet for his son.

Bear didn't get along well with his other pets, but he thought Vance might be interested in such a misbehaving dog.

"He was not doing well in the shelter. A lot of times, dogs with that much energy unfortunately end up being aggressive in a shelter because they're not getting exercise like they need," said Lorri Hare, executive director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society. "He was starting to channel his energy in a bad way."

While that personality is a turnoff for most dog owners, it's perfect for Vance's line of work. Police dogs need to be playful, social and extremely possessive. Trainers work with toys, making a tennis ball smell like marijuana, for example. So the dog instinctively starts to hunt when he smells the odor, Vance said.

Bear "has a lot of hunt drive and a lot of toy drive. He would sleep with a toy in his mouth -- he had to have it all the time," Vance said. "The dogs I'm interested in are the dogs that drive you absolutely crazy in your house, that constantly want you to play with them. Those are the dogs I want to see."

At the humane society, police dog trainers don't normally drop by, but it's not unusual for orphaned dogs to become assets in other ways. For example, a Labrador was chosen Tuesday to help autistic children, Hare said.

A pit bull recently was adopted to work with a search-and-rescue team, and several dogs are chosen to help alert owners when they're about to have a seizure, she said.

Even Radar the Weather Dog, a popular mascot at WNKY in Bowling Green, came from the shelter, Hare said.

"A lot of people think Radar came from this high-class breeder. He didn't," she said. "Sometimes dogs in shelters just need a little bit of TLC and training."

Malachi, a pit bull puppy that was badly injured after being dragged by a vehicle, will attend a puppy boot camp at Dog's Day Out in Bowling Green after he recuperates, Hare said.

"He has some trust issues, which is completely understandable," she said.

The boot camp focuses on social skills and basic obedience commands, said Pam Brown, owner of Dog's Day Out.

"Obviously, if a dog is trained, they're going to be a lot easier to work with," she said. "It just makes daily life a little bit easier with the dog."

Bear is now ready for police work. He's living with his new owner, a sheriff's deputy in Alabama, and he gets along very well with the family, Vance said.

When he's at home, Bear is playing with his owner's young boy. At work, he stays in a $5,000 kennel with two porches, Vance said.

"He's living the life of luxury," Vance said. "For a dog that came from the humane society to be able to be an asset to whatever community he goes to is incredible."