The Real ‘Sniffer’ or Detection Dog and Our Uses for their Noses!

Believe it or not Detective Dexter Doggley is not the only mutt around with a super sniffer.

Detection dogs are specifically trained to use their sense of smell for a very wide range of things. The talents of different types of sniffer dogs include:
•    Endangered animal species (e.g., black-footed ferret,[4][5]bumblebee nests)
•    Invasive species (e.g., quagga mussel)
•    Human remains
•    Crime evidence
•    Fire accelerants (i.e., arson investigation)[6]
•    Currency
•    Drugs
•    Explosives
•    Firearms
•    Mobile phones (as contraband in prisons)[7]
•    Mold
•    Plants, animals, produce, and agricultural items (used bycustoms services)
•    Polycarbonate optical discs such as DVDs (e.g., bootleg recordings)
•    Termites
•    Bed bugs
•    Wildlife scat
•    Cancerous tumors in humans
•    Hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) emergencies in humans

Let’s have a look in a bit more detail at some of our recent Doggy heroes and just why they deserve a medal!

Soldier Angie McDonnell’s life was spared after bomb detection dog Vidar, discovered a stash of explosives while she was on patrol near Camp Bastion. Later on, 4 year old Vidar suffered with post traumatic stress disorder and Angie took him under her wing – returning the favour.

Daisy has used her extraordinary sense of smell to sniff out over 500 cases of cancer in humans. Her owner, Dr Claire Guest is an animal behavioural physiologist and she had been researching the possibility of training dogs to detect cancers. During this time Daisy saved Claire’s life by doing just that.

Charco was a sniffer dog whose job was to find people under rubble and debris after major earthquakes or other disasters. His handler Neil Powell trained him to climb on and through rubble to search for survivors and could even change his command to switch over to explosive searching. Charco died at a good old age and many have people have him to thank for their lives.

Odin the German shepherd police dog and his partner constable Bill Dodd received commendations for their roles in taking down an armed suspect. Odin used his incredible sense of smell to track down the suspect and also disarmed him by jumping up and knocking the weapon away.

 

Dexter: The main character from the Dexter and Friends children’s interactive storybooks. In the app he uses his brilliant sense of smell to find things and solve mysteries.

Meet the Real Animals Who Inspired Our Characters

Hello fellow animal and pet lovers!

Today we are going to tell you all about the REAL animals behind the Dexter and Friends characters. I bet you didn’t know that all the animal characters in our series are based on the actual pets or wildlife that inspired our writer, Tamara Forge.

Of course we must start with the star of the show, Detective Dexter Doggley…

This is Rocky, when this picture was taken Rocky was still just a puppy. Rocky’s keen sense of smell and inquisitive nature inspired the character of Dexter. 

‘Dexter the dog is a brilliant detective, he uses his nose and it’s very effective!’

Rocky is nearly 5 years old now and he still lives with our writer in his New Forest countryside home in England. He is always full of fun and everyday is an adventure.

This is Tigger, he was a very young kitten when this picture was taken in 1979! Tamara was born less than a year later and she grew up with Tigger by her side. Tigger’s fun-loving and very caring nature inspired the character of Little Puss. Tigger lived a full and happy life to the ripe old age of nearly 21, which is very old for a cat. 

This is Mrs Oakley, she also lives in the garden and surrounding woodland of Rocky’s New Forest home. She can usually be found gathering the walnuts and hazelnuts from the landlady’s neighboring trees! With her twitching nose and bushy tail she was the perfect inspiration for our nut loving character, Hazel.

This is Mr Prickles, he is a frequent visitor to our writer’s garden and can very often be found snoozing in log sheds or napping in compost heaps (this is why we must always be careful to look for sleeping wildlife before we light bonfires!) Of course this behavior inspired our lovely character Prickle, who likes to hibernate during the winter months.  The real Mr Prickles will come out on warm summer evenings to eat any yummy dog food leftovers from Rocky’s dinner.

This is Pepper, Pepper was part of a dynamic duo – Salt & Pepper! These cheeky pet mice were the inspiration for the whole mouse gang that cause endless mischief and mayhem around the McDrew household, in the Dexter and Friends series.

Now that you’ve met their real counterparts you can see the likenesses in our lovable crew, so from us, the pets, the wild animals and from Dexter and Friends – 

“We hope you enjoy the series!”