NORTH HILLS : Dog Sniffs Out Drugs Planted in Forensic Class

Magnum the dog has a nose for narcotics.

The golden retriever--a seven-year veteran of the Port of Los Angeles police department--showed how keen his olfactory senses were at a demonstration put on by detectives at James Monroe High School in North Hills.

After containers of marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine were hidden in a music classroom, Detective Leo Stekkinger led Magnum on a search of the room. The white-faced, rust-colored dog sniffed the teacher’s podium, desk and metal cabinet as they were pointed out to him by Stekkinger. At a cardboard box under the desk, Magnum reacted as though he’d caught a whiff of a T-bone steak, scratching at and tearing open the box--which contained heroin.

Using his trained schnoz as an antenna, Magnum also homed in on stashes in the piano bench, a bookshelf and a piece of luggage on a side table.

The retriever came to the school--a law and government magnet in the Los Angeles Unified School District--to participate in forensic science teacher Kathleen Floor’s class on how evidence is gathered for criminal cases.

“It brings what we’ve been talking about to life for the kids,” she said.

Drug-sniffing dogs such as Magnum receive four to six weeks of training. Trainer Tom Romero said the dogs are made to believe that their favorite ball smells like drugs and that they are looking for their toy when they are sniffing for drugs.

To inspire Magnum to search out drugs in Floor’s class, Stekkinger first threw him a red plastic ball, and when the dog retrieved it, patted and praised him. Then the detective pretended to throw the ball, tucked it in his armpit, and indicated where he wanted Magnum to search.

The demonstration sparked a debate about animal exploitation among three students after the assembly. Sophomore Meena Kang said Magnum’s work is an example of humans using animals for their own benefit, while Evan Zelig, another 10th-grade student, said he thought Magnum’s special abilities should be utilized.

“It’s sort of a sad thought that these beautiful dogs don’t realize that what they’re doing is dangerous,” said junior Berek Marcus, because a dog could die from accidentally ingesting heroin if not treated immediately. “I’m in favor of the idea . . . but it’s a necessary evil.”