She’s appeared on the Rachel Ray Show, CNN, MSNBC, Geraldo at Large, and Inside Edition. She gets fan mail and gifts from Europe, China, South Africa, South America, and more. She’s even met President Bush and the Governor of New York. Midge is certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s smallest police dog, and she’s an honored member of the Geauga County Sheriffs Office.
Midge weighs in at only eight pounds, but she packs quite a punch when it comes to finding drugs. A cross between a Chihuahua and a Rat Terrier, Midge joined the K9 Unit of the Geauga County Sheriffs Office when she was just 10 weeks old. She began her narcotic training at three-and-a-half months and passed her certification test, administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, becoming an official narcotic dog just one day after her first birthday.
She has been on the force for just over six years.
The history
Sheriff Dan McClelland, who is owner/handler of the dog, got midge for the sole purpose of training a small dog to become a narcotic dog.
“The idea came from watching our big dogs search small places. For example, it’s difficult for a German shepherd to search the backseat of a two-door car, the trunk of a car, or underneath a car. These are all places where contraband can be hidden. I thought a small dog would be perfect for the job,” he said.
The Sheriff acquired Midge as a 10-week-old puppy.
“She was the runt of the litter at just two pounds and literally fit in my hand. Two things impressed me about Midge. She was great around people and calm, and she sniffed everything. I thought, ‘Here’s a puppy that understands what her nose is for.’ I brought Midge home for a sleepover, and that was the beginning of Midge’s new home and career,” said Sheriff McClelland.
The Sheriff named her Midge because his daughter used to play with Barbie, who had a friend named Midge.
Training
Midge started her training for her new role fairly quickly.
“Our dogs are trained to work for praise. They work out of loyalty and for the bond that they have with their handler. For example, we use praise like ‘good girl’ or we blend in play or a little roughhousing to give them positive reinforcement.
“Once we had built that bond, we started narcotic training. We used a three-inch-square canvas bag with marijuana in it. We have a DEA license to use real drugs for dog training. I got down on the floor and played her two favorite games, tug and fetch. We played for about 30 seconds using positive praise, and you could see Midge really enjoyed the training. The next two days we did the same thing. The goal was to build Midge’s drive and to associate the odor of the drug with positive reinforcement. By the fourth day, she was able to find the bag and retrieve it on her own,” said the Sheriff.
Her first mission
When Midge was six months old, she went on her first mission. She sniffed a block of school lockers and alerted on a locker. “Her alert is to stare at me. We found that the student had had marijuana in his sweatshirt’s pocket the night before,” said the Sheriff.
Today
Today, Midge is trained to search for marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack, heroin, methamphetamines, and their derivatives. She also works on the opiodes and can identify percocet, vicoden, and other often-abused prescription drugs. She has several arrests to her credit.
Sheriff McClelland and Midge also do talks for children on topics such as Good Drugs versus Bad Drugs and Being Aware of Strangers.
“For example, if you try to pet Midge and she doesn’t know you, she’ll run. She goes to a trusted adult versus a stranger. For children, it’s an excellent demonstration on what they should do when approached by a stranger. It’s visual and they can see it. We bring it down to an age-appropriate level, and the retention rate is so much higher than if I would have just stood there and talked to them,” he said.
”Midge has her own badge on her collar and her own vest with the Sheriff’s badge on the back. Her vest is her work cue. When she has it on, she knows it’s time to sniff and respond. When I take her vest off, she’s just a normal, loveable dog. She has her own goggles and rides on the motorcycle. In fact, one time we pulled up to another car that had a dog in it, and Midge took her paw and pushed up her goggles.
“Midge does not think she’s a little dog. She’s a feisty female. We got three new Shepherd dogs last summer, and Midge insisted that the Shepherds recognize her superiority. She is the boss,” said Sheriff McClelland.
(Cleveland.com - March 10 2013)
Related:
