Original subtitles

This is the city.

Los Angeles, California.

People from 121 countries call it home.

They can shop at the more than 30 all-night markets or,

for five cents ride on the shortest railroad in the world.

From the top, you can see the

freeway interchange known as "The Stack".

It was here before the advent of the automobile

that oil was first discovered.

Overnight, hundreds of derricks appeared.

Residential areas became oilfields.

Today, new refineries dot the landscape.

They're among the most up to date in the country.

Oil is still big business and the wells keep pumping;

only now, they go unnoticed.

Sometimes, other businesses try to go unnoticed

when they're not above board.

I go to work. I carry a badge.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

It was Tuesday, March 8th.

We were working the day watch out of Narcotics Division.

The Boss is Captain Trembly.

My partner is Bill Gannon.

My name is Friday.

Detectives Whitney and Elinson

had just returned from field duty.

They didn't look too happy.

You two working airport detail, is that it?

- Nothing? - Ten pounds of air.

You guys know what it's like up there.

You can stake the place for a month and come up empty,

sometimes, even if you're working on a tip.

We know for a fact that Hardy is shipping pot

through the airport, but go prove it.

Go find the stuff.

You don't even know where to begin looking.

The frustration can get you.

You know the junk is going out all around you and you got no way to stop it.

We're not telling you guys anything new. You know the feeling.

You stand there in freight area wishing you had x-ray vision.

- You just feel so stinking useless. - Yeah.

You feel like you're not earning your pay.

There's got to be an answer.

Yeah, there is Whit, but we don't seem to have it.

10:05 a.m.

Captain Trembly wanted to see us

concerning a piece of equipment he'd asked us to check out.

Come on in and have a seat.

How'd it go?

- We tried it. It doesn't work. - What's the problem?

You can only use a fluoroscope to detect metal objects.

And marijuana isn't metal.

Granted it's sometimes wrapped in foil.

So is your Aunt Bertha's fruitcake.

Any suggestions?

All right now, look.

You and I both know that a vast majority of all the marijuana in

this country passes right through LA here.

How do we stop it? How do we find it?

Well, we still got our informants working.

That's not good enough. In the next few

months, they start harvesting this stuff and

it gets shipped out by the ton right here through LA.

There's got to be some way to detect it.

How? We're not dogs. We can't sniff it out.

Dogs.

- What's that? - Bill just said it. How about training a dog to do it?

Joe, that's the craziest thing I...

Wait a minute. That's not so crazy!

- Maybe it's not. - Where do we start?

Where else? The Yellow Pages.

Displays, distillers.

Here we go. Dog kennels.

There's Continental K-9's. They've got a big ad. Sentry Dogs.

It won't hurt to try.

Well, that's our problem, Mr. Buesing. We need a pot sniffer.

Is there such an animal?

Not yet, I'm afraid.

Is it possible to train a dog for the job? I've heard somebody in Israel did.

Is that right? I haven't heard of it.

But quite frankly, Captain, I think the right dog can be

trained to do just about anything.

On the other hand, no one I know of has ever tried

to train a dog to track down marijuana before.

It seems to me the right dog could do it. Maybe.

How long would it take to train the dog?

After the first problem is solved,

I'd say that in three months you'd know one way

or the other if the dog could do it for you.

- The first problem? - Finding the right dog.

It's a cinch. You can run an ad.

I wish it were that simple.

To find them, you have to look for a dog with the proper aptitude.

We can start tomorrow out of my kennel.

We've got some 400 candidates for the job.

Just one thing, I'll need some marijuana.

We'll never know if the dog can find the stuff

if he doesn't know what he's looking for.

- How much will you need? - Oh, just a small amount. Teach them the scent.

Okay. Joe, use some of the stuff we've booked that's found at evidence.

- Have Central to assign somebody to be the carrier. - Yes, sir.

- Mr. Buesing, thanks for your help. - Don't thank me.

I've got teenage kids of my own. I wish I could guarantee results.

I wish to God I could... But I can't.

We understand. We'll hold a good thought.

Thursday, March 24th, nearly three weeks went by.

Narcotics. Friday.

Yeah, that's right.

Well that's good news.

In about thirty minutes.

Right, we'll see you then.

-That's Bob Buesing, -Yeah?

He's got the field narrowed down to three dogs.

- Good morning, gentlemen. - Good morning.

- Good morning. - This is Gene Jalbert, my chief handler.

- How are you? - Nice meeting you.

Glad to see you. How's it look?

Well, we've tested out nearly 100 dogs.

These three have shown the best aptitude, but you never know how

quickly a dog will get bored with a new trick.

How are they on detection?

That's what we come to now. So far, we've only hidden the bag.

This time, we've tried to conceal the scent of the marijuana.

The burlap bag is in the dried grass over there.

The marijuana is wrapped in two layers of cellophane, a layer of

tinfoil, and thick wrapping paper, and then placed in the bag.

Well, I guess we're ready to begin. Our first candidate is Igor.

I'll get the 30-foot lead.

Igor, sit.

Igor, seek.

Seek, boy. Seek!

Come on, Igor, seek!

- A wild dog, isn't it? - Yeah.

Seek, boy!

He doesn't look like he's got the idea.

Wolfy, seek.

Seek, Wolfy!

Wolfy, seek!

Seek boy, seek!

Make a good trick dog, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

That's a mean-looking dog.

Stay Hoshi. That's it. That's it.

Hoshi, seek.

Hoshi, seek boy!

Hoshi!

Hoshi, seek!

Come on Hoshi, seek!

Come on, Hoshi.

I don't suppose you fellas need a good dependable grass scratcher, do you?

Well, we'll keep looking. These aren't all the dogs in the world.

They're just all the dogs we have on hand.

Well, we sure appreciate your trying and we can see you've done that.

Maybe we're asking too much.

- It seemed like a good idea. - Well, it's still a good idea.

Somewhere, Sergeant, there's a dog who can do the job for you.

- What about that German shepherd? - She's got a cold, hasn't she?

- She's up and around today. - Go get her, will you please Gene?

It's worth a try.

We've got one other dog that has not been tested yet.

It's a German shepherd bitch who was down with a cold the other

day when we were running the rest of the animals through.

- We've got the time if you have. - I'm not promising anything.

You saw how those others behaved and this one doesn't have any idea what we want.

What are the odds? A hundred to one?

About that, yeah.

- Come on girl. - Ginger, sit.

This is Ginger.

Feeling better girl? Over your cold? How's your sense of smell?

Ginger, seek.

Seek, Ginger.

Come on girl, go find it.

Where is it? Where is it?

Good girl.

Drop it. Good girl.

I think we got ourselves a dog.

Gentlemen, a new breed and a rare one.

- One of a kind. - A pot-smelling dog.

- Is that yours? - No, it's not mine. What is it?

- I don't know. - Well open it up.

- You open it up. - Well it must be for you, Joe.

- How do you figure? - It's closer to your chair.

Barko Dog Food.

Some wise guy.

Be careful, Gannon, that's your lunch. I wonder if you'll sit up for it.

Well, it's been three months Mr. Buesing, what's the word?

The dog's good, Captain. She is awfully good.

- Joe? Bill? - I've seen her in action and I'm impressed.

- I'll go along with Joe. - Well that's encouraging.

But you know the problem we're up against with the courts on

- something like this, probable cause. - What's that?

We'll Bill and I have faith in Ginger, but unless the courts

are convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt of her reliability,

it won't matter how much pot she uncovers.

We won't be able to bring the marijuana into court as evidence.

We have to convince any judge that Ginger is so absolutely

trustworthy that they'll grant us search warrants on her say-so alone.

Only that way can we use in court the evidence she uncovers.

I see. How do you go about convincing the courts?

We'll have to hold a demonstration, the sooner the better.

- And it better be good. - Where and when?

Well, since Ginger would do most of her work at the airport,

we've arranged with the Flying Tigers Airline to test her at their warehouse.

It's about as big as a football field and packed with freight.

- When? - Day after tomorrow too soon? Good.

Bob, have you got Ginger with you by any chance?

Sure do. She's downstairs in the station wagon.

Would you mind bringing her up? Our chemist

just set up a test we'd like to have her take.

Oh? What kind of test, Captain?

Well, all I've been hearing is how good that dog is.

She is. I'll guarantee it.

You won't have to if she passes this test.

On this table are sixteen different substances, only one of them is marijuana.

But the other fifteen are similar enough in appearance and odor to confuse experts.

We also have a plate of dog food. That was Captain Trembly's idea.

That's plate 10. The number I'm interested in is 13.

Ginger, seek.

She's pretty good, isn't she, Captain?

Either that or she can read.

- What's that? - I don't know.

But this time, it's for you. It's closer to your chair.

Mason, you wouldn't' happen to know what's in this box, would you?

No. All I know is it was delivered by a French poodle twenty minutes ago.

How could you tell? You two wouldn't know a French poodle from a fox terrier.

"With best wishes and much hope for continued success. Love, Lassie."

Stupid dog.

Look at that, Joe. Success with one C.

Oh, it's a chew-chew bone.

Gentlemen, in the event some of you don't know the

exact reason I've invited you down here, let me explain that

you're about to see a demonstration.

Now, you're all aware of the problem we're up against in the detection of marijuana.

The dealers do a pretty good job of disguising the packaging or concealment.

Now, with thousands upon thousands of boxes,

cartons, and parcels passing through our

airports, bus terminals, and shipping port,

it's virtually impossible to stop the flow of

marijuana... or rather I should say it was virtually impossible.

We feel we've come up with a solution.

I'll ask Sergeant Joe Friday here to take over at this point.

Gentlemen, this is Mr. Robert Buesing.

His friend's name is Ginger, a three-year-old German shepherd.

We believe she is the solution Captain Trembly made reference to.

Now, we've had the warehouseman here hide five boxes for us

among the several hundred you see around you... five boxes.

Even we don't know exactly where they are.

Inside of each of the five boxes is a relatively small quantity of marijuana.

Some of it processed, some of it unprocessed.

It's all been wrapped in plastic, tinfoil, and wax paper.

It's then been packed in three separate airtight boxes,

one inside the other.

Bob?

Ginger, seek!

In less than ten minutes gentlemen, that dog located

every single one of the concealed packages containing the contraband.

A pretty amazing accomplishment, I think you'll agree.

Now I...

- Captain, Trembly? - Yes, your honor?

- I understood you concealed five packages, is that correct? - Yes, sir. That is correct

Do you have any idea what the dog is after in that woodpile?

Uh, no your honor. I do not.

Granted that up to now, your dog has performed with alacrity.

But if the animal reverts to its normal

instincts, seeking out items other than what she's

intended to, well I have to tell you that the bench would find

itself hard-put to issue a search warrant.

In other words, the bench would have no way

of knowing in advance whether she was getting

excited over a shipment of marijuana or a package of dog biscuits.

It blows your probable cause sky high, doesn't it?

Yes sir, it looks that way, your honor.

It says on this envelope, "Property of Chief of Detectives Houghton."

That belongs to me, Al.

I hid this item earlier this morning.

Inside this sealed envelope are just two grams of marijuana.

I wanted to see how good that dog really is.

Now speaking for myself, I have no doubts at all that this dog

would be invaluable to the department.

- What happens now? - Now, we wait for the decision.

- How do you think it'll go? - Well, it's a matter of search and seizure, Bob.

You see, according to law, airlines have the

legal right to open any package they carry.

However, if Ginger lets us know there's

marijuana in a particular package and after we

obtain a search warrant, we can open that package and confiscate the contraband.

But unless the courts have enough faith in

Ginger's talents to grant us that search warrant

on her say so alone, we can't use the contraband to convict the drug peddlers.

- So now we wait? - Now we wait.

Well, what do you know? Sergeant Preston and his fearless dog, King.

- Woof, woof! - Hey, Gannon.

Do you get a disability allowance if you come down with fleas?

Haven't you heard? He's trading his gun in on a flea collar.

Where have you two been? We've been looking all over for you.

We wanted you to meet the new member of team.

- Well, Young said, hello. - Woof, woof.

While you were out playing dog trainer, we we're out making a bust... a good one too.

Is that right? Ginger, come.

Who's holding? Ginger, seek.

What a minute, what's going on in here?

You guys ought to sign this dog on with the pickpocket details. She's a natural.

What have you got in that pocket?

Nothing, officer, just my car keys and some small change.

- What else? - Evidence.

- What sort of evidence? - I'm going to book it.

Well now in your report, what are you going to call your evidence?

- Marijuana. - I didn't hear you.

Marijuana.

Woof.

It's been two weeks, Captain. Any word?

Come on in. I'm just about to call you.

I just heard from Judge Manson. He says he'll have an answer for us in 24 hours.

Yes, sir. Go or a no go?

He didn't say.

But I've got a feeling that a little nudge might not do any harm.

I mean you can't blame the bench.

They need all the ammunition they can get to help the legalistics fall into place.

Yes sir, the dog's a new wrinkle.

Now, let's crack it from another angle.

We know that the dog would get the job done at the airport.

- Let's show them how good she is at a private residence. - What do you have in mind?

I just heard from Mason and Young. They're

out in the field of Orchard Street address,

Pork Hardy and Charlie Anderson?

Every team in the division has had a go at it and they've all come up empty.

Yes sir. We know they're receiving at the airport.

Our dog should be able to prove that.

Agreed. But let's take a shot of putting the frosting on the cake.

Let's nail them for possession in their home. Probably cause, we don't need.

Mason and Young got a search warrant. They're shaking the place now.

Hop out there and introduce them to Ginger.

Just one thing, Skipper.

What's that, Gannon?

We've never worked in a private residence,

and you know how much luck we've had with Hardy and Anderson.

None of us have turned as much as a seed.

- Let's go for broke. - Yes sir.

As far as Ginger is concerned, let's win it all or lose it all.

Joe, what are you doing here?

I just came out to give you hand.

We could sure use it.

We've shaken the place from top to bottom. We can't turn a thing.

But we know they're holding.

What do you say, Friday?

- You come out to hunt Easter eggs with the boys? - Maybe.

Pork, do you know what these people are looking for?

Something called weed, I think.

That we ain't got. But there's some salami in the refrigerator.

All right. That's enough of the mouthing off. Just sit quiet.

- Did you cover everything? - With a fine-toothed comb.

We know they got junk here someplace.

They're still peddling it to high school kids three blocks over.

Four of the kids fingered the place this time.

Listen at how they accuse us, Charlie.

We pay their salaries, offer to share our salami with them, and they accuse us.

Sweet, aren't they?

We've told you to tuck in that mouth, didn't we?

Kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, closets; nothing.

The stuff has got to be here somewhere.

Go ahead, Friday, you tell them where it is.

We don't know what you're looking for but go ahead and be

a good goon and tell them where it is.

I brought along a friend who might just do that, fella.

Good for you, Friday. Good. Good for you, Friday.

Bring all your friends, we'll have a party.

Bill.

Well, lookie there, Charlie, a cop with a seeing-eye dog.

Ginger, seek. Seek, girl.

Where is it?

Where is it?

Ginger, seek girl.

Where is it? Where is it?

That dog better be housebroke or we'll sue.

Come on, seek.

Where is it?

Where is it?

- You know something, Charlie? - What's that?

I bet that mutt would like some of our salami.

Come on, girl.

Come on, girl. Where is it?

Where is it?

Where is it?

Good girl.

- What are you looking for there? - Salami.

We told you once the salami is in the refrigerator.

We'll settle for sausage.

Five bricks in one lead.

- Joe? - Yes, Mason?

The dog food and the bone.

- What about them? - You still got them?

- I think so. - Good. I'm ready to eat them.

Welcome to the division, Ginger.

The suspects were tried and convicted of violation of the

State Health and Safety Code, Section 11530.05,

Possession for Sale of Marijuana.

The penalty prescribed by law is imprisonment in the State

Prison for not less than two years or more than ten years.

Thanks to Ginger, the traffic in marijuana has decreased

sharply the past year in big cities all over the country.

So successful has she been that the underworld

has paid her their highest compliment.

They have put a price on her head.

But Ginger was only the trailblazer.

Other such dogs are already on the job at bus terminals,

airports, and United States Borders.