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NEWS
SNIFFER DOG from page 14
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | FEBRUARY 26. 2020
yard, the other has to stay in her large crate. “Whoever I get out first, the other one is like totally mad,” Halm said. On the job, the dogs yield results that are sometimes heartbreaking for Halm’s clients, who suspect a son or daughter – or husband or wife – is hiding a habit. “With families, many times they just don’t know what they’re dealing with. They may just suspect something or they may have money gone missing and prescription drugs that disappear and they’re scared to death. “I do a lot of referrals because as I’ve been in this job for so long and I know counselors, I know police officers, I know addiction treatment centers. “If you tell me, ‘I have a friend who has a kid that needs inpatient treatment but they have no money,’ I have a place for them. If you come and say, ‘my husband who’s an executive at such and such a company needs treatment but we want it to be very confidential and money is no issue,’ I’ve got a place for you. “I know so many people now and I can help people navigate this immense and
“They have us coming in on a regular basis and a random basis,” Halm said. “There’re two things that they pay us for. One is detection, which is the obvious one, but the other one is very much a deterrent because their patients stay between Amy Halm’s license plate lets motorists what her canine employees are all 30 and 90 days and so about. (Special to AFN) they see the dogs” and bewildering system.” think twice about hiding any contraband. Because the dogs can react to a target “It’s a co-dependence thing,” Halm exodor that will linger long after a substance plained. “Sometimes family members is gone, Halm sometimes tells the client, just feel so bad they’ll do anything to help “Maybe you would like to drug test your them even if it’s not helping them.” son or your daughter or maybe suggest She also has a number of public and counseling if it’s a spouse or just open charter schools on her list of regulars. that conversation and if you don’t know “They pay a lot for the deterrent and how, here’s some resources to help you.” because they just don’t want anything to Her biggest category of customers are happen to their kids or their staff. And drug treatment centers, some with more these days, some students not only not make good decisions, they don’t even than 100 beds. Given Arizona’s high concentration of know what they’re dealing with when it residential centers, Halm said that call- comes to things and telling what’s dusted ing her is no different from a restaurant with fentanyl and what isn’t.” Perhaps inevitably, people on the other routinely scheduling a pest control visit.
side of the law contact her too, trying to enlist her services so they can determine a good place to hide contraband. “I’ve had calls from people who say, ‘We got high last night and we don’t know where we hid our pot. We don’t want our kids to find it.’ “I’m not even making this up! And then I’ll have calls saying, ‘I want to buy a drug dog. How much are they?’ I tell them, ‘I don’t think you’re qualified.’” Her private customers are varied, often turning to her because they see stark changes in their children’s or spouse’s behavior or even looks. And her clients come from all walks of life – even psychologists and counselors. And that, Halm said, indicates why she’s likely to stay in business for a very long time. “This is such a pervasive problem,” she said. “I have seen everything – from being in a homeless shelter to being in Paradise Valley in a home that was all marble. “We’ve searched Ferrari’s, we’ve searched Bentley’s. It’s just amazing.” Info: desertdrugdog.com, 602-9082042.
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