The speaker on Tuesday 01 May was Dr Wayne Severn who is a director of Scenttech. He bought along two dogs – NYX a drug detector dog and EOS a dog in training.
Wayne is a Drug and Substance Analyst, and has over 25 years’ experience as a dog handler. Having a PhD in Chemistry, Wayne uses his scientific knowledge and expertise in canine olfaction to advance the usefulness of trained detection dogs into non-traditional situations, especially the detection of illicit drugs.
Why use dogs to detect:
- They are quick
- They are non invasive
- Dogs work around staff – no down time
- Cost efficient
- Effective – 100% staff screened
- Dual Purpose
- Indication proves probable cause
- Highly visible deterrent
Wayne and NYX showed the meeting how the dog works to detect and locate an illicit substance and then just as important, the reward to the dog once it has completed its task. When NYX was not actively at work she also liked to play and was very inquisitive and enjoyed interacting with members - no drugs were detected among members. The meeting showed a great interest in the work that the detector dogs do.
ScentTECH Ltd is a private company that also undertakes workplace and accommodation checks for drugs. More information can be found on their website at http://www.scenttech.co.nz.
