Third bomb dog in Monongalia County donated to agency
<br>by Cassie Shaner - The Dominion Post July 4, 2012.
<br>A little spice - or rather, Ginger- will help WVA Police check the Coliseum Milan Puskar Stadium and area schools for explosives more efficiently.<br>The 6-month-old golden retriever joined WVU Police in April. Ginger's breeder: Adirondac Golden Retrievers in Mexico, New York offered to donate her after hearing the K-9 Officer Josh Cook and his dog Bella, were finalists in the American Kennel Club's ACS awards for Canine Excellence in Law Enforcement last year.
<br>GInger, registered under the name Adirondac Lady Mountaineer, is Monongalia County's third bomb dog.
Cook said the sheriff's department also has a K-9 trained in explosive detection.
Once Ginger is fully trained, she will allow Cook to alternate dogs during bomb sweeps, which can take two days before a home football game at Milan Puskar Stadium.<br>Bella typically begins panting after 15-20 minutes and has to take a break. Cook waits while she rests, but he'll eventually be able to continue searching the stands with Ginger.
"It will be more efficient and more thorough," Cook said, "I can double-check everything."
<br>Bomb dogs don't typically begin training until they're about a year old, but Cook said Ginger can already detect three kinds of explosives. He's been training her himself, using a $2,000.00 training kit the WVU athletic department purchased for him last year.
<br>"She's way ahead of the game for being that young," Cook said.
Bella, who's now five years old, can detect hundreds of explosives and combinations thereof. She trained at Chiodo Kennels in Philippi.
<br>Cook has been in touch with the same trainers about Ginger; but he said her training will depend on her progression. He works with her in brief sessions every day, doing five or so repetitions at a time.
Ginger only comes to work with Cook once or twice a week, but that will change as the summer progresses. He tries to expose her to people, other animals and elevators, among other things, so she won't get distracted in the future when she has work to do.
<br>Ginger has already been exposed to children. Cook brought both dogs to Kids Rock Summer Camp this week at Suncrest United Methodist Church.
<br>Director Jenny Nicholson said the 10-week camp focuses on a different theme each week. This week's theme was health and safety.
"The kids were very responsive to the dogs." Nicholson said, as well as Cook's lesson about safety. "The dogs were very good to the kids."<br>Cook takes Bella - now Ginger, too - to at least one school a month to educate students about the dogs and demonstrate what they do.
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