By Emily Maher
4029 TV
BENTON COUNTY, Ore. — The Benton County Jail is one of the only jails in the country with a way to sniff out smuggled cell phones. Hydro is a four-year-old Belgian Malinois, and member of the Benton County Sheriff K9 Unit.
Hydro is trained to find drugs, but he’s also one of just five dogs in the country who can sniff out digital contraband. “We’re the only ones in the state of Arkansas that finds cell phones,” said Deputy Matt Dewey, who works at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and is also Hydro’s handler. “He would do anything for me, put his life on the line for me,” Dewey added.
The sheriff’s department says cell phones, just like any other item, have a specific scent dogs, like K9 Hydro, can be trained to sniff out.
Hydro was recently put to work in McDonald County, and Dewey said it didn’t take long for Hydro to find what he was looking for. “We went in and found it in about ten minutes.”
Full story: Benton County Jail one of few in country with cell phone sniffing dog