Costa’s ‘Chief’ sniffs out crime

He comes to school once or twice a month, but is not punished for his poor attendance. When he comes, he just wanders around the school instead of going to class. He is “Chief,” our school drug dog.

Chief is a five-year-old Labrador Rhodesian Ridgeback mix that has been working as a drug-sniffing dog for one and a half years. He can sniff out many pain medications/alcohol and other school-banned substances.

“The dog not only finds drugs and alcohol, but can find gunpowder as well, so we are able to protect the students, staff and others from weapons on campus,” Chief’s handler and trainer, Bill Wigodsky, said.

These capabilities come from a typical four-to-six month training period. However, the training process and time frame varies from dog to dog.

“Training depends on the dog’s drive and personality. They are taught obedience, contraband odor recognition, and sitting when they find the odor they have been trained to find. They are also taught to ignore people except the handler,” Wigodsky said.

Many may wonder how drug DOGS are able to differentiate between the scent of drugs and other smells, like food, in an area. During their training, the dogs are praised for not eating food after smelling it. They are told “no” if they go for the food and are then corrected by the trainer.

“I am extremely fortunate with Chief. He leaves the food alone. I was working with another dog last year who took a bologna sandwich out of a kid’s backpack and ate most of it before I could get it away from him. I bought the kid lunch,” Wygodsky said.

Wigodsky has been a dog lover for his whole life. At age 11, he was bitten by a dog and needed 15 stitches to close the wound but still stayed loyal to them. He previously worked as a police officer but retired to find a part-time job.

“I always wanted to be a canine handler, and this was the way to do it.  It has turned into a bit more than part-time, but it allows me to be at my children’s events,” said Wygodsky.

Wygodsky works for the company Interquest Detection Canines, which is dedicated to training and handling dogs to find contraband. The company has contracts with schools, industry, entertainment and government operations. Chief works an average of five days a week.

“Although the dogs are owned by the company, they live with the handler. Chief lives with me and my family. He has his own space in the house. If I am fortunate enough to keep him until he retires, I will be given first choice to keep him as a pet,” Wygodsky said.

Chief’s most startling find did not occur at Mira Costa, but at another school. After entering a classroom, he sniffed out a pen-cap marijuana pipe. It was hidden behind a poster on the wall about seven feet up.

“Mira Costa has had the contraband canine program in place for a few years. Chief has been going there for about a year. Generally speaking, not specific to Costa, sometimes we find a bunch of stuff [contraband] connected with different people, and sometimes we go days without a find,” Wigodsky said.

Wygodsky spends most of his time with Chief, both at home and at the job. His favorite thing about Chief is not his unique drug-sniffing skill.

“He’s loyal and protects the house. I must say that the best thing is sometimes he sleeps on his back and snores like an old man,” Wygodsky said.