Trained dog sniffs out cellphones in prison
Sure, you've got options when it comes to keeping track of your meandering canine, but Mel Barker of the Norwich prison is turning the tables on who gets called master. Aside from the ridiculous amount of gadget theft (and subsequent injuries) already occurring in the UK, the smuggling of cellphones behind closed bars is apparently quite an epidemic. With transport vehicles ranging from hollowed out cheese wheels to underhanded cops, Barker resorted to training a 15-month old English Springer Spaniel (Murphy) to hunt down illicit mobiles before the wrong (or right, depending on perspective) people received an unexpected call. The pup has his work cut out for him, however, as over 60 phones have been confiscated from prisoners during the past year, and the demand is presumably still on the rise -- but considering his uncanny ability to detect "scents unique to mobile phones," we're sure Murphy will have it all sniffed out real soon.[Via Textually]



















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
james @ Oct 5th 2006 3:09PM
The dog should be use to sniffing butts
Phone Nerd @ Oct 5th 2006 3:45PM
do you think that he is really sniffing out phones or is he hearing the high pitched frequency that GSM phones emit? Just like when your phone is near a set of speakers and you hear it distort them. just a thought
zbeast @ Oct 5th 2006 6:22PM
No the dog is really smelling the phone.
You can even do it.
Take your phone and sniff it!
A phone definitely has a smell.
the plastic case, the battery, the circuit board.
The leather case and or strap.
A dogs nose is up to 10,000 times better than humans.