LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Middle Tennessee's first kinetic detection dog is now on the job in Lebanon.
Blaze, a German Shorthaired Pointer, is trained to keep guns out of schools. He's one of only two dogs in Tennessee trained to detect explosive and firearm odor moving through the air. Unlike the traditional canine detection method, kinetic detection is dog-driven. The dog is out in front leading the handler.
Get a glimpse of Blaze in the player above.
"I've had numerous parents approach us and tell us how glad they are that the school system and sheriff's service have partnered together to have him and how thankful they are that he's here," said School Resource Officer Handler Dusty Burton.
Burton and Blaze travel to all seven schools in the Lebanon Special School District as well as some of the Wilson County schools.
"Like if they say, for example, they have a bomb threat, or have a suspicion there might be a weapon on campus, they'll call me, and I'll go there," Burton said.
The three-year-old pup might be the biggest hit at elementary schools. Fourth-grade student Leslie Locke said he's become a trusted companion.
"He can make you feel better if you're sad," said Leslie Locke.
Blaze and Burton were trained together in Alabama at the Global K-9s Paws on Patrol School Safety Program.
