Sniffing out trouble

MUKILTEO – If you line up to take a ride on a ferry in the coming weeks, chances are you’ll meet Rusty.

He’s a police dog sniffing for bombs or the material that can be used to make bombs.

Rusty will stick his wet nose under your bumper, he’ll rub it on your door handle and he’ll use it to check out your trunk – all to sniff out any trace odor of bomb-making ingredients.

Unlike a typical police dog, if Rusty finds what he’s looking for, he’ll sit down and wait for a tasty treat and some playtime. He’s so good-natured that if he catches a bad guy, he’s more likely to lick him than bite him.

“For him, this is a game,” said State Patrol trooper Greg Erwin, Rusty’s human partner. “It’s a game of hunt.”

Using dogs to sniff for explosives is all part of a new Washington State Ferries anti-terrorism program that aims to have canine cops inspect 15 percent of all vehicles that ride on Puget Sound ferries.

It’s hard to say how dangerous it is to ride a ferry in Snohomish County because, for obvious security reasons, officials aren’t saying much about why security has been increased.

“We are spending a lot of time on the ferries, because we have intelligence that leads us to believe they’re a target,” said trooper Lt. Jeff Sass, who supervises ferry security for five terminals in north Puget Sound, including Edmonds and Mukilteo.

In a bid to get more money for ferry security, Democratic U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee and Rick Larsen last week confirmed that more than 15 security incidents occurred on state ferries between Sept. 11, 2001, and May of this year.

They said existing security measures make it safe to ride the ferries, as did officials from the State Patrol and the ferry system.

The ferry system has received $14 million in federal grants since Sept. 11, 2001, to beef up its security, said Scott Davis, safety systems manager for state ferries. In another security-related move, the Legislature also increased the agency’s budget by $1.2 million per year during its last session.

The federal dollars are being spent on physical security measures such as installing locked cages that could keep terrorists out of ferry control rooms. The state money is being used to hire new staff, in addition to other new ongoing costs.

A countywide threat assessment in 2003 did not include the ferry system, because it comes under state jurisdiction, said Lee Hazelwood of the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management.

Inslee and Larsen would like to get as much as $800,000 so the State Patrol can buy and train more dogs, saying that’s the best way to tackle the security problem because it doesn’t violate anyone’s privacy.

Are the dogs helping?

“It’s tough, because you’re measuring something that’s not happening, but I think it does,” Sass said. “We’re there to deter problems from happening.”

Ferry user Tana Griffith of Renton is skeptical of the dog patrol.

“I think the dogs are fine, but I don’t feel anymore secure,” Griffith said. “If (terrorists) want to blow up a ferry, they’ll find a way.”

She said more needs to be done to stave off a potential attack.

“I think we’re going to have to kill the terrorists, or they’re going to kill us,” Griffith said. “It’s a war.”

Carol Martinez of Clinton doesn’t see the dogs as much of a deterrent, either.

“It just seems like a waste of money,” Martinez said. “If someone was going to (blow up a ferry), I don’t think they would be stupid enough to let a dog smell their car.”

Others doubt that someone would try to take out a ferry.

“I’m not worried about it,” said Kristin Trinca of Seattle. “(The dogs) don’t make me feel any more secure.”

Ferry seaman Jeff Simmons said reaction to the dogs and other security measures has been mixed, with some saying it’s an invasion of their rights to have their vehicles sniffed. But he said it makes him feel safer to work on the ferries.

Erwin said most people don’t mind the dogs at all. And his biggest concern so far? Stopping people from feeding Rusty.

Rusty is a thin 1-year old, but it’s just the nature of the breed. He’s a Hungarian Vizsla, a dog bred for bird hunting.

Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.