For the dogs whose work it is to find explosives, there’s something inside them, a drive that gives them the fervor to spend hours upon hours tirelessly searching.
But they don’t do it for free. These dogs serving agencies such as the FBI, CIA and Pentagon are looking for payment at the end of the day, even if it’s just a tennis ball, leather chew toy and scratch behind the ears.
According to Deputy Doug White, a whiff of an explosive is all they need since dogs have a sense of smell 400 times stronger than humans; their enthusiasm spikes when they smell something as simple as flash powder.
Kira is one of those animals. A 3-year-old Belgium Malinios Pentagon police dog, she looks more cuddly than deadly. But, in an instant, she, and other police dogs like her, can transform into a deadly opponent for criminals found breaking the law.
“100 pound furry razor blades,” said White.
With trainer Phil Sherman, Kira waits his command, sitting at his feet between training exercises last week at the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office Walter C. Heinrich Practical Training Range in Lithia, 14603 S. County Road S.
She seems to smile at the sight of about 25 suitcases laid out systematically on the concrete next to Boeing 727 in the middle of the nearly 200-acre complex.
Sherman leads her to the concrete to demonstrate her abilities. If dogs could talk, it seems this one would be muttering “finally.” With her tow, Sherman walks her around several suitcases, tapping the corners he wants the dog to sniff.
After several negative results, the dog stops dead, calmly sits down, and looks at her handler. Kira won’t move. This is the one, I’ve done what you asked, here you go, she might say.
Sure enough, she’s nailed the mock bomb. And for her hard work, she is treated to a toy.
So it was the order of the day last Wednesday as part of the week-long certification training at the 2007 National Explosive Detector Dog Workshop at the range Jan. 8-12.
Kira and Sherman were one of 39 dog teams represented by 28 agencies from across the country.
The workshop was set in the classroom and the field.
Kira, 3, started working when she was 15-months-old. Most dogs can work until they are about 10, or the equivalent of 70 people years, and then are retired, usually living out the remainder of their lives with their handler.
“She plays a vital role in keeping everybody safe,” said Sherman of Kira. “It’s a necessity.”
Two teams from the Pentagon came to Hillsborough County last week. In Washington, D.C. the dogs are used for sweeps in search of explosive devices in and around the Pentagon. The dogs have been considered a greater value to police work since the terrorist attacks five years ago.
“This is very valuable … to get fully exposed live scenarios,” Sherman said.
This is the second time the sheriff’s office has hosted the training, the first time in 2005. 
Cpl. Matt Hall had his 9-year-old partner Bo work the ground airplane, walking the isle, the dog jumping into the seats and lurching up for the overhead bins.
After traversing several rows of seats, the German shepherd had found what he was looking for, the smallest of scents coming from an explosive device.
Slipping back to the floor, Bo chewed happily on a piece of leather.
Having worked since 1999, Bo will probably retire this year, Hall said. The dog served the sheriff’s office during 9/11.
“He’s been working ever since, chasing bad guys,” Hall said of his partner. “These guys (dogs and handlers) are some of the best in the business.”
Bo has never found a bomb while on duty and that’s a good thing for everyone’s safety, Hall said.
Had explosive been found for real, the cargo of the vehicle would have been unloaded and the dogs would search it. Then, the vehicle—bus, train or plane—would have had its perimeter searched by the dogs looking for any other devices.
Other exercise demonstrated was the explosion of several devices including a suitcase rigged with a mineral water bottle disruptor, or water bomb.
The water bomb uses the force of its minute explosion to separate components of an explosive device, keeping the bomb from detonating.
Blowing up the suitcase, which exploded in hundreds of pieces and tore the cloth case at its seams with a snap-like sound, was an example of what might be done when an unidentified box or object is discovered.
Once the dogs find a threatening device, a bomb squad is then sent in, White, also a member of the sheriff’s office bomb squad, explained.
The county has seven bomb teams, who if a situation arises, don their protective gear and rig a questionable device with the water bomb, a peroxide-based explosive.
But most times it takes a dog to get the bomb squad to that point, he added.
“They’re absolutely amazing creatures,” he said. “They’re very, very good at what they do.”