Police dogs in Bradley security

Submitted by in_the_woods t3_yceag5 in Connecticut

I travelled last week and they are using dogs at BDL in the security line to check passengers. I like it in that I don't need to take shoes off or laptop out of the bag, plus I like dogs.

Does anyone know what these dogs are sniffing for besides explosives?

Also they had it at Miami airport.

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Kodiak01 t1_itm4uea wrote

I worked on the freight docks at BDL from 1995-2005. They used to bring the different dogs over for us to assist in training. Depending on the specific dog, they would hand us either a bag of weed, a vial of coke/crack (I never asked) or a hockey puck-sized piece of C4. We would hide them in the air freight while they waited in another room, then they'd do their search.

Only once in all those years did I ever manage to beat them. They ended up bringing 3 different drug dogs in, and none could find the weed even when I narrowed it down to the pallet it was hidden in.

Apparently some drug dogs have a bit of trouble smelling weed in a pallet of poinsettias...

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globalwarninglabel t1_itm7v9h wrote

I’m sure knowing that will be useful some day, and I thank you for for sharing it. I always wondered how specialized vs cross-trained the dogs were.

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Kodiak01 t1_itm88e8 wrote

Just for the record, they did find the weed when I stood in the center of the dock, 50' from any cargo, with it shoved into my back pocket.

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himewaridesu t1_itmyrpc wrote

Given that poinsettias are toxic to both dogs and cats I can’t say I’m shocked the drug dog couldn’t find it in there.

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TrogdarBurninator t1_ito5aqc wrote

It's really not that bad. It just makes them vomit. There are FAR worse things than poinsettias, I mean granted, I wouldn't want an animal to eat them, but they aren't emergency visit toxic

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_xXmyusernameXx_ t1_itn6eqw wrote

Guys, the dogs are looking for explosives, not the 5 thc gummies you stuck in a bag of gummy bears, y'all can relax.

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Ds87878 t1_itm7kb8 wrote

Mainly the illegal import/export of pup-peroni’s

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in_the_woods OP t1_itmdj6y wrote

My dogs can detect the opening of the cheese drawer from nearly any distance away. It's magnificent.

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mkt853 t1_itlnw1e wrote

Were you allowed to pet them?

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in_the_woods OP t1_itlslt0 wrote

Ha, unfortunately no. Officer Barkly was on duty at the time.

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Yowowser t1_itnoc40 wrote

I know NYC transit dogs ignore weed. I joked about it with an officer and he said if train station dogs pointed on weed they would do nothing else..

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hatecliff909 t1_itm173i wrote

Are the dogs friendly? What breed?

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in_the_woods OP t1_itmd7fm wrote

I'm not super good at identifying dogs, but it looked like a kind of hound or lab. It wasn't a shepherd type or anything like that. It wasn't intimidating at all. Probably around 30 lbs.

They walk back and forth after people walk through the area. 20' one direction, turn around 20' back.

I saw one react to a passenger in Miami. He started pulling on the leash and running like Scooby Doo. They pulled that guy aside. It looked like the same breed as in BDL.

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hatecliff909 t1_itmekft wrote

Ah cool thanks for all the info. I love big dogs but probably less intimidating for most people to have 30lb dogs than German shepherds

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Telecustom t1_itqgdic wrote

It's mostly Labrador varieties I've seen at BDL, LGA, JFK, even the Staten Island Ferry (don't ask). Entirely anecdotal, but I've heard a few times it's due to the perception they're less threatening than German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois.

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in_the_woods OP t1_itqkmrm wrote

Yeah it can't be a good time for people who are afraid of dogs. But Labs will help with that even if just a little.

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buried_lede t1_itmlym1 wrote

Sniffing for cats and squirrels

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solomons-marbles t1_itmhxso wrote

My completely non-legal opinion. If they sniff out your personal use gummies/vape. Probably hand you over to the Statie there. Who isn’t gonna waste their time in charges, but you’re probably gonna miss your flight. Anything harder or large quantities of THC products, you’re getting busted.

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in_the_woods OP t1_itmifyd wrote

Yeah this is what I was thinking too. That dog and the Statie in the high desk are going to be busy if they are stopping people for edibles / vapes. What a waste of time and money.

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pridkett t1_itnfxbn wrote

Dogs show up inconsistently at BDL. They’re not there every time and their presence is unrelated to other steps in the TSA security process (i.e. the rest of the process isn’t simplified when the dogs are there). Most of it is they are sniffing for explosives and “other contraband” which is usually drugs and large amounts of cash, which while it’s legal to fly with a large amount of cash, the government may try to find ways to claim it.

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redcapmilk t1_itnq4p0 wrote

They can be signaled to indicate anything, to give police a legal excuse to search you.

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TFA-DF8 t1_itnx13j wrote

Im sure that’s exactly what they are used for. I bet those dogs done even have real noses.

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BeerJunky t1_ito04yc wrote

Not even real dogs. Probably stuffed animals.

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ImBakesIrl t1_ito1lv5 wrote

Not sure if this is what you’re asking, but probably not weed. I fly out of Miami a lot, a couple times with some ganja accidentally left in a sock deep in my checked bag… the dogs who were trained to sniff weed had to be taken out of the force because nowadays a lot of legal (or rather, not illegal) things smell the same as illegal weed. Plus Miami-Dade supposedly stopped prosecuting small possession.

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SomaCityWard t1_ito49i7 wrote

They're sniffing for NARCS... are you a narc? You have to tell me if you are. It's the law.

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evilinnocence t1_itoft9l wrote

I think they do this moreso on high travel weekends. I traveled several times over the summer and the only time the dogs were there was 4th of July weekend.

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in_the_woods OP t1_itp8y9a wrote

Maybe it is increased, but I was travelling from BDL on a Wednesday so they were in use then too. MIA was a Sunday.

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usleepicreep t1_itqtl9w wrote

Seen them at every major airport. Don’t let them, I got yelled at..

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mdfromct t1_itn1ujn wrote

Maybe due to the police funerals….

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United-Hyena-164 t1_itmk8ba wrote

It’s because weed is widely available on New England but still illegal in other places

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kashmir_stg t1_itmmb83 wrote

TSA makes it pretty clear they are not looking for your stash. If they find some, they will call police over but that’s not their primary concern

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[deleted] t1_itln1ox wrote

Drugs

Narcotic sniffing dogs and explosive sniffing dogs are still very much in use.

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phunky_1 t1_itlnz9g wrote

Definitely not drugs....

The TSA has stated their policy is to look for security threats.

If they happen to find illegal substances during security screening they refer the matter to local police but they don't specifically look for them.

The dogs are smelling for explosives and other weapons.

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iwanttobehappy2022 t1_itlurw6 wrote

TSA looks for drugs too. I had all prescriptions checked one by one. They definitely look for drugs.

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Old-Bedroom8464 t1_itm0z75 wrote

They suck at it though. I used to tape bags of coke to the underside of my balls and they never found it. If had checked baggage, I'd put it in there and never once did they check.

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Zendub t1_itmgb1d wrote

Testicle coke. That's a low blow.

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[deleted] t1_itlohau wrote

Nope. Depends entirely on the purpose the dog was trained for. The TSA are still looking for cocaine, heroine, meth etc. If you've got an ounce of gorilla glue stashed in your suitcase, you're gonna get flagged but probably not arrested. What the TSA aren't as concerned with are gummies and vapes. Weed is not their chief concern, but they aren't just "not looking for drugs" because weed is legal in some states.

They still use drug sniffing dogs in tandem with explosive sniffing dogs. Drug smuggling is still very much an issue. You've never heard of a narcotic sniffing dog?

Edit: spelling and grammar

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[deleted] t1_itmgte6 wrote

Anything illegal except for illegal immigrants.

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TFA-DF8 t1_itmjf7l wrote

How edgy of you to mention immigration .

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