It was fun researching how bomb-sniffing dogs are trained and their incredible ability to sniff out explosives. Here's an excerpt from the "Penumbra Database" spy thriller:
Unknown to Edhi or the Dolans, a week prior, at 3am, four CI
agents wearing jeans and dark hoodies emerged from the surrounding Hemlock
forest surrounding the Dolan’s organic farm. A special dog accompanied them. It was an
overcast and moonless night. They snuck to the back of the open U-Haul and
crawled in.
As one stood outside as a lookout, the three inside swept hand-held devices close to the van floor, walls and ceiling. They did the same to
the canoes and camping gear. The dog sniffed items its handler pointed to. One
agent held a strange-looking device that detected minute traces of radiation.
In ten minutes, they vacated the truck and disappeared back into
the forest, then made their way back to the quaint, Victorian-styled Riverside
Inn where ‘Tracker’ was eagerly waiting for them.
In her room, ‘Tracker’ and the agents analyzed the air samples
they collected for traces of biothreat residue. Special strips were inserted
into the hand-held devices that detected traces of Anthrax, Plague, Ricin,
Abrin…even Tularemia. The results came up negative. The radiation detector
device computed zero emissions.
The dog handler reported his canine gave no behavioral
signs of smelling explosives. It was
trained to detect C-4 signatures, buried land mines, IED’s, and explosives used in military-weapon war- heads… including mortars.
When pressed by ‘Tracker,’ the
handler assured her that his dog would have picked up a week-old scent if mortars had been in the U-Haul. Even an infinitesimal amount would trigger
a nerve in its nose, the trigeminal, and be sent to a part of its brain that processes sensations,
including smells. He told her, “If
any of these hi-tech mortar shells had been in the van, my dog would have
alerted me… she never forgets an explosive signature.”
‘Tracker’s’ sixteen CI agents initially reported the Dolan’s U-Haul as
suspicious. The decision was made to target it, for they spotted it passing
them often as they bicycled, hiked and bird-watched along the back roads
surrounding Cambridge Springs.
A thorough background check of John and Diane Dolan came up
clean and their truck was free of biological, radiological and explosive
residues. U.S. intelligence decided they were not a homeland-security threat.
Check out this new breed of bomb-sniffing dogs!
Robert Morton writes the "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster in the Florida Keys and Caribbean" spy series.
Check out this new breed of bomb-sniffing dogs!
Robert Morton writes the "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster in the Florida Keys and Caribbean" spy series.