COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County School District is expanding its K-9 detection program to all high schools this school year, adding an extra layer of protection for students and staff.
This initiative aims to ensure safety by randomly looking for hidden explosives and firearms.
The expanded program will utilize 16 highly specialized detection K-9s, including K-9 Waffle, a firearms detection dog.
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Last school year, the K-9s screened more than 19,000 bags, about 48,000 people and more than 4,000 cars, Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell learned.
K-9 Waffle’s handler Officer Zimmerman demonstrated how the dogs are trained, teaching them where firearms could be hidden. Waffle screened people at Pebblebrook High School, with an officer noting the K-9 would “drag me behind them” if a firearm was detected.
This school year, students will see the K-9s at every Cobb County School District high school, randomly looking for hidden explosives and firearms.
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An officer explained that they choose these dogs so students can interact with them and pet them, which helps build connections between the officers and the students and staff.
“Even though we don’t have a dog assigned at the elementary level it just shows the commitment to school safety,” Billy Pritz, principal of Kemp Elementary School, said.
The district also employs three narcotics K-9s that search for drugs in schools.
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