SMALL BUT STURDY - GET ALONG, LITTLE DOGGIE: Weymouth uses Australian cattle dog to round up suspects
Weymouth police officer Lorri Landrigan holds Audi, an Australian cattle dog that is trained to help the department find drugs. “She#%92s not the big, tough, growling police dog that people expect,” Landrigan says. (GREG DERR/The Patriot Ledger) By ROBERT SEARS
The Patriot Ledger
WEYMOUTH - She#%92s pint-size as far as police dogs go but Audi, Weymouth Police Department#%92s new drug-sniffing Australian cattle dog, holds her own - and then some.
Even her handler thought at first the choice of breed was unusual for police work. ‘‘She#%92s not the big, tough, growling police dog that people expect,#%92#%92 officer Lorri Landrigan said as Audi jumped into her arms.
Audi is about a third the size of a German shepherd, and Landrigan says that in many ways, the dog is better suited for drug detection than her larger counterparts.
‘‘I#%92ve trained Labs and golden retrievers, but I#%92ve always had the thought that smaller dogs might be more useful finding drugs because they could get into smaller places,#%92#%92 said Kenneth Ballinger, director of the Barnstable County Sheriff#%92s Department K-9 unit who trained the dog.
Audi can easily nose under a car#%92s dashboard, and she can walk on countertops to sniff kitchen cabinets.
Ballinger said Audi is the only Australian cattle dog he knows of that is working with police.
The intelligent, quick, tough dogs were bred to herd cattle in the Australian Outback by crossing the wild dogs known as dingoes with several other breeds, including Merle collies, dalmatians and Australian kelpies.
The dogs are also known as Queensland heelers after the area of Australia where they originated and because of the way they drive cattle by nipping at their rear hooves.
A Cape Cod woman offered Audi to Ballinger when the dog was a year old. Australian cattle dogs aren#%92t meant to sit around the house. They#%92re working dogs and need something to do, he said.
Ballinger did his standard evaluation for prospective police dogs, looking at Audi#%92s health and personality, agility, attention span and food drive because the dogs are rewarded with food.
‘‘Most good dogs rate a 7 or an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Audi is a 10 plus,#%92#%92 he said.
Audi, now 2, and Landrigan trained for 10 weeks. ‘‘She picked things up surprisingly fast, and when she#%92s working she is focused and calm. Nothing seems to rattle her, #%92#%92 Landrigan said.
Audi went to work in mid-December, and proved herself soon after by sniffing out a suspected drug dealer#%92s stash of rock cocaine hidden in woods underneath branch and leaves.
‘‘That was a difficult search because of the smells in the woods of other animals and the brush and thorns. She did really well,#%92#%92 Landrigan said.
Robert Sears may be reached at bsears@ledger.com .
Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Tuesday, January 16, 2007
