Golden Noses
“I believe they’re the most overlooked troops in the events industry, possibly because they blend in so seamlessly into their position…”
The music industry contributes £5.2 billion to the economy annually and sustains almost 200,000 jobs. The future of the live events industry and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in it are facing uncertainty.
Whilst we’ve all been unable to attend, or work at our favourite events, there is some noise being made by industry professionals and artists, but in a different kind of a way. 'Let The Music Play’ and 'We make Events' are two campaigns who are highlighting the importance of this sector to the UK’s economy, and seek support from the government to help save what may be left of it by raising awareness. Artists across the industry have joined together to share? in the devastating effects Covid-19 has caused, and there is one team I wanted to highlight who are, without a doubt, also being missed from live events. They're a fluffy crew; with 4 paws, a wet nose and are possibly the most overlooked life-savers out there!
When I first officially met a bomb detection dog, I was sitting having lunch whilst on break from an artist soundcheck at the O2 arena. A tennis ball had gently rolled towards me and as I peered under the table, I was greeted by a panting, wagging springer spaniel, with its wavy pricked forward ears and big brown eyes watching my every-single-move, hoping I’d take the bait and return the offer to play. ☺
Most would’ve seen a detection dog no doubt sniffing luggage at airports. They’ve always been a bit of a jet-lag cure after a long haul flight when I've seen them working away, wagging their tails behind them. You may have seen them in a stadium ground darting back and forth along empty seats before a sporting event. Yet as tempting as it is for us to pet them, with every working dog we come into contact with, there’s an attached sign on their harness which tells us not to. So when I found that my break schedule lined up with the O2's bomb detection dogs break schedule, I was delighted. With a trained detection dog comes a committed handler, someone who has devoted their time and patience with one purpose in mind:our safety. They serve to protect us. We may have taken these little sniffing machines for granted at times whilst enjoying ourselves at events. Did you know that these canine friends of ours do in fact keep watch over us from the ground, and are always there to make sure we get home safely?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness some of the vigorous training that goes into a fully-fledged accredited detection dog. Now with venues closed, I do often wonder how our guardian angels are coping in these times, because one thing I know is that I owe a lot of thanks to them. I was introduced to Inquest Canine Detection & Security ltd last year, a remarkably wonderful and dedicated dog handling team who support ‘Let the music play’ and 'We make Events.' The leader of the pack is Dean, who serves as the managing director. He trains and deploys explosive detection dogs, drug detection dogs, pyrotechnic detection dogs and security dogs. That’s quite a pack! Through chatting with one of his team members Tamsin, I've come to learn that these dogs do infact carry a superpower sense of smell and will do anything for a ball!
When I checked in with Tamsin to ask how the handlers and dogs were coping in these times, she shared with the me the stark realities of what this pandemic had changed in their working life. She said " It’s the mental health of our dogs that have been our main concern throughout these past 10 months of the Covid 19 pandemic. Pre March 2020 our dogs would have been out on deployment up to 5 times a week. We’ve had to replicate that as best as possible, simulating ‘work’ days so that the dogs believed they were still performing their working roles. Many of our clients allowed us access to their venues so that the dogs could ‘work’ in familiar environments and our teams could safely carry out socially distanced training days. This was very much appreciated and much needed.
We’re glad to see the back of 2020, and hope that with the development of coronavirus vaccines 2021 will see our festivals, events and tours restart and our dogs back out at work. Admittedly these past 10 months have been hard for us humans too, but we’ve got this far and with the determination, enthusiasm and commitment shown by our staff we will come out of the other side of this pandemic stronger than we were at the start of it." If I had a tail I would wag to that, Tamsin!
So, how does a detection dog ...detect?
“All drug detection dogs are trained to respond to illicit items. They only get a ball on a confirmed find. So, if the dog follows someone and sits (indicates) to the handler we will then talk to the individual and explain what the dogs trained for and try and confirm if the individual is carrying the illicit item. If the person confirms, then the dog will get a reward. If the person denies having anything on them than the dog will not get a reward, and be moved on to continue working. Most dogs will indicate on residual odour or will at least show interest on the person that’s been in contact with substances. The person may not be carrying anything illegal, but may have been in contact with them prior to the event.” -Tamsin
This insane ability to smell that these detection dogs use to keep us safe is quite remarkable and worth mentioning. A dog’s nose extends from the nostrils to the back of its throat, giving a dog an olfactory area 40 times greater than a human’s. Dogs have some 300 million olfactory receptor cells; humans have six million. More to the point, 35 percent of a dog’s brain is assigned to smell-related operations. A human brain assigns only 5 percent of its cellular resources to smelling. It’s not just a matter of quantity, either. A dog’s nasal mechanism doesn’t work the way a human’s does. When air enters a dog’s nose, it splits into two separate paths, one for breathing and one for smelling. And when a dog exhales, the air going out exits through a series of slits on the sides of a dog’s nose. This means that exhaled air doesn’t disrupt the dog’s ability to analyse incoming smells. They most definitely deserve all the boops on the snoots! Don’t know this phrase
When talking to these dog handlers, I’ve often been reminded of the heroic story about a bomb dog named Brandy. This good girl was strutting her fluff at JFK airport where she was giving a demonstration as a part of an Army-funded research project. Instead, she went live and was led onto a grounded flight with her handler. She sniffed her way to a briefcase labelled ‘crew’ which contained C4 explosives, and because of her superpower snoot, and those hours put into her training by her dog handler, they both saved the lives of everyone onboard that day.
One thing that is beautifully evident when I watch these magnificent creatures at work (or play) is that, if they could, they'd work all day. Their happy tails signalling to us onlookers that they do truly love the role that they play in our society. And despite them not being deployed for our entertainment, they too are being equally missed and missing from the live events scene right now. I believe they're the most overlooked troops in the events industry, possibly because they blend in so seamlessly into their position, and so let's not forget these, our guardian angels or their handlers who've made sure we return home safely and will again soon.
With thanks to GMP, Go Home Safe, Inquest Canine Dogs.
