Photo, Animal fair

“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” Orhan Pamuk

We all love to see dogs run in fields, run through tall grass and flowers, over hills and streams.

But there are very special dogs with more challenging fields to run, to explore, to discover. These are the K-9 dogs of the NYC Police Department’s Transit Bureau. Their fields are the subways of New York City…the fields of concrete and tile.

I went to Manhattan for some city shots. Times Square is always a favorite, always something going on. I expected an omnipresence of police due to what we’ve come to accept as “terror alerts”. As in, “Here’s Brian with today’s weather and terror, over to you Bri.”

Sure Transit cops were patrolling the station platforms and passageways. And today, as when I was a young Transit cop, I did see officers helping passengers, two-handed help sometimes. I’ve observed that hands rise in direct proportion to the amount of blond in the coif.

But I stumbled upon a FOX TV “Inside Edition” photo-shoot of the Transit Police K-9 unit.

Lt. John Pappas, Transit’s K 9 Unit C.O., is interviewed by FOX reporter, Ann Mercogliano

I spoke about that able and proud K-9 unit before in my blog not long ago: https://wherethesundontshine.net/2015/11/11/our-service-veterans/ My visit was at the K-9 base on Queens Blvd in Long Island City. It was good to see them again in the “field” this time.

Sure, the natural fields of green present opportunities for dogs to flush out rabbits and ducks and the like. And there are many hounds and gun dogs that get the job done for their owners in the green, green, fields of home. These dogs, trained to detect certain scents are called “detection or sniffer” dogs.

The Transit Police K-9s find their own opportunities in steel and concrete fields, opportunities to show their very special sniffing stuff. They are not trained to detect fox or fowl. Well, maybe FOX news cameramen. But they’re trained to sniff out narcotics or explosive substances, the latter possibly placed by the insane among Earth’s bipeds. These quadrupeds, even if we could speak their language fluently, would never understand how we, the “superior” species, have such a rabid obsession for religion based slaughter…poor things.

Dogs can detect scents much better than we humans, they have 225 million olfactory receptors dwarfing our mere 5 million. And the presence of their target scent is not hidden by the subway signature aromas of spilled drinks, vomit, or even urine. They can get past those barriers and still find their target. They alert their handler by the silent signal of sitting.

There is keen excitement when the signal is given to search:

K-9 Tori traces the air to detect the presence of explosives

On the hunt for a scent they check out anything and anyone in their path, searching the air with great interest.

After the Fox…a FOX cameraman that is. It’s all part of the K-9 job.

As is sneaking up on sneakers. K-9 Tori caused this gent to stop in his tracks.

Might not want to get to close to that butt, Tori.

Even the suits don’t rate a K-9 EZ pass.

Video below.

She seems to say, “Is that a cold wet nose I’m feeling?”

I made a little video that might better capture the moment for you:

Be well,

Lee, shedding a little light wherethesundontshine

See my alternate blog:http://leebythesea.me