Gone to the dogs
Local man, dog search for contraband
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Jetta raced down the hallway, a blur of shiny black, sniffing the base of a bank of purple and gold lockers as she ran. Finding contraband is a game for the 4-year-old black Labrador retriever. She has been trained to detect illegal drugs, alcohol, guns, over-the-counter and prescription medications. Jones, a retired school administrator and teacher, is Jetta’s handler and owns Interquest Detection Canines of Montana. After retiring from Polson High School, Jones went to work for Interquest, and after a year bought the franchise. When Interquest sent dogs and their handlers to inspect Polson High School, Jones was drawn to the canines.
“I saw the impact dog searches had on the school climate, and I liked that,” he said. “We’re not a rehab program, we’re a deterrent.”
Jones recently held a practice session with his dog Jetta. While Jetta rested upstairs in a classroom, Jones placed a bottle of gin, an unopened can of beer, a pseudo odor of heroin, a marijuana pipe, a loaded firearm and a fingerprint with whiskey scent in various places on the lower floor of the school. Jones then harnessed Jetta, a sign to the dog that the game is on, and let her start sniffing the hallways. She’s a “high octane dog,” Jones explained, saying he’s never seen a dog work faster. She prefers however, to work off leash and not “be micromanaged.”
When Jetta enters a classroom, she sniffs the perimeter first and then moves to the center and interior sections. As her handler, Jones remains alert and makes sure Jetta checks every area in the room — trashcans, recycling boxes, drawers and under desks. In bathrooms she checks under every sink, jumps up to smell the trash, flips the lid sanitary disposal bin and sniffs under each toilet, methodically going from stall to stall.
When she finds an area with the strongest odor, she places her nose on it and then does what’s called a “passive alert” by sitting. Jones rewards her by tossing her “toy” to retrieve. He doesn’t call an alert until Jetta has sat in the same area twice, Jones noted.
Trained at the Houston headquarters, Interquest dogs come “fully loaded,” and cost $6,000 to $7,500 per dog. Handlers have to go to school, too.
“Basically, I was pretty ignorant when it came to working dogs,” Jones said, although he noted that this also meant he didn’t have any bad dog-training habits to break. Interquest taught him to trust his dog.
Jones’ first dog was Cassy, a yellow lab; and they worked together for nine years, until she had to be put down in 2011.
“She was the best dog I’d ever had,” Jones said. “I miss her.”
Now Jones and Jetta are a team. Jones explained that Jetta experienced a difficult puppy-hood. She was a biter, and her owners seriously considered having her put down. Luckily for the smart black puppy, someone from Interquest took her to Texas to see if she would make a contraband dog even though only one out of 50 dogs completes the training.
“Jetta is a great example of taking negative energy and using it in a positive way,” Jones said.
Jones and Jetta, plus his two employees and two other dogs, contract to inspect schools, Job Corps centers, prisons, prison pre-release facilities, oil refineries, oil field drilling sites, group homes, jails and the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.
Jones works all the schools in Lake County although he said it’s getting harder for schools to afford his services. The drug free school money is gone since the Obama administration pulled the funding, Jones commented.
Schools contract with Jones each spring for the coming school year. Sidney High School is one school Jones and Jetta visit. Principal Dan Peters said he thinks the dog helps with the school’s drug problem elaborating that Jetta is efficient, fast, and does a really good job checking lockers, student cars and classrooms.
“It’s a deterrent for kids bringing drugs on school property,” Peters said.
Peters recalled the best part of Jones and Jetta’s last visit when Jones presented information on how both he and Jetta were trained.
“Teachers and students were really fascinated,” Peters said.
Handling the discipline at PHS and loving dogs makes this a perfect job for Jones.
“You’ve got to trust your dog,” he said, smiling.
