Canine dogs visited Dawson’s campus, Forensic science took a day to deep dive into canine officers and their partners. In class, the officers discussed stories about how the breeds are trained and how they qualify as working dogs. The dogs are picked at a young age if they specifically have the drive to hunt or have the potential to. Officers will get the dogs around one year old and continue to train them for years to come, expanding the dogs’ knowledge and ability to work in various situations.

The stories included how strong the canines can be, one example was a dog that was let into a room to get a burglar, and the dog continued to get the man while getting ski shoes, mattresses, ladders, and more thrown at them. The canines are so hyper-focused on getting the target and working that the officers explained their need as an owner is to protect the dogs from overworking themself in shocking ways like preventing the dog from walking off cliffs or putting themself in danger.

The class was then taken outside, and examples of the dogs at work were shown, one of the officers dressed in protective gear posing as a threat, who was then attacked by a dog. (Yes, the officer was okay; she was trained and knew what she was doing.) We were actively shown four different dogs with three different scenarios, two consisted of biting the arm, one was finding keys, and the last one was finding human remains that consisted of brains.