by Joe Kirkpatrick

I started to write about the upcoming elections this month, but decided you, the reader, must be tired by all of that by now, and would find much more enjoyment out of the following stories. Both stories are true, and happened right here in Cleveland. Today's article is about two different instances where local drug dogs failed miserably. Both instances occurred about ten years ago, so possibly it was the same drug dog that failed twice.

My wife has taught at North Lee School for years. One morning, shortly after class had begun, one of her students came up to her desk carrying a large Zip Loc plastic bag full of a brownish/green substance. "Mrs. Kirkpatrick, I found this in my locker when I went to put my stuff up -  what is it?" My wife quickly told him  it was just something the janitor must have left behind, and took the bag from him. She later found out that a local drug enforcement agency had been using North Lee School the night before for drug dog training exercises. Evidently one dog failed his drug test, and his handler evidently wasn't too swift in doing his inventory as well.

The second incident happened within about a year of the first. A young girl named Christine who bought parts for her car at my import store was a student at Bradley Central High School. Christine was a good girl, never in

trouble, and made outstanding grades as well. One day when she came to my store to pick up a part for a car, she was visibly shaken. She said, "Joe, you won't believe what happened to me today!" She went on to tell me while she was in the middle of a class, a police officer appeared at the classroom door and called out her name. The officer asked her to come with him - that they had the drug dog going through the parking lot, and the dog had gotten a "hit" on her car.

I'll never forget Christine telling me at that point, "Joe, I wouldn't even know what a drug looks like." As they led her out to her car in the parking lot, the drug dog was pulling at it's leash, whining, wanting ever so badly to get into Christine's car. The officer ordered Christine to unlock her car, which of course, she did. The officer opened the door, and the drug dog literally leaped into the car. A moment later, the dog quickly exited the car, greatly enjoying the unfinished Hardee's sausage biscuit Christine had left that morning in the console of her car!
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