VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The nose goes! At least for the dogs trained to detect drugs, bones, suspicious fires and bed bugs.
An annual training for K9s specializing in various areas of expertise was held in Sandbridge in November. Handlers from all over the county swept rental properties, hiding targets inside the home to be found by the dogs.
Dog sniffing for bed bugs at a Virginia Beach rental property
Surfside Services, a local bed bug detection business, said it’s a win-win: The dogs and trainers have a house to stage their tests, and the rental properties get a sweep of each properties from the four-legged experts.
Related: Dogs inspect homes in Sandbridge for bed bugs
Virginia Beach Police send some of their K9 handlers to the training as well so the attendees can bounce ideas off each other in order to better train these working dogs.
Many of the dogs will put their noses as close as possible to the target once they find it, and they will sit to alert their handler of its location.
Surfside Services has four active dogs and two more in training. Many have been rescued from local SPCAs, but not every one that begins training is fit for the job.
The job of the K9 is just that: A responsibility to detect a threat.
