Ready to sit, stay and serve: ATF K-9s trained to detect explosives

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — If you’ve been to a large sporting event or convention, you may have seen a dog working a very important job.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) trains K-9s as a first line of defense.

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“We train every day and try to be the best we can be because a lot rides on our shoulders as far as public safety,” said David Wiley, an ATF Special Agent K-9 Handler and Certified Explosives Specialist.

Wiley’s dog, Derby, is a Search Enhanced Evidence K-9 (SEEK). Derby can smell thousands of compounds found in explosive devices, meaning she can identify firearms, ammunition, shell casings and post-blast debris.

Derby lives and trains full-time with her handler. The twenty-two-month-old Labrador Retriever is new to the job. She completed 12 weeks of training before meeting Wiley.

“We don’t pick the K-9s, the K-9s pick us,” Wiley said. “The trainers are watching how we interact with the different K-9s and personalities and drive, and I ended up with Derby.”

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Derby is Wiley’s second K-9. His first, a lab named Ranger, retired this year after more than eight years of service.

Ranger spent time at big events and was called to assist at crime scenes.

“He’s actually solved murders with finds that he’s had, just from finding shell casings,” Wiley said. “With technology, the things we can do with shell casings now, it’s incredible.”

In his retirement, Ranger still lives with Wiley and his family. He enjoys many of the same things he did while working, like a game of fetch, but Ranger has had to adjust to having a younger dog in the house.

“Toy stealing goes on quite often,” Wiley said. “Derby is not really interested in the toys until Ranger has it.”

Derby will participate in training every day for her entire career, making sure she is always ready for the next call.

“We get brought into special events such as the inauguration coming up,” Wiley said. “We work this Saturday, the opening day for Alabama football. We start searching that about six hours prior to kickoff, and there will probably be between 10 and 15 K-9 teams searching Bryant Denny Stadium.”

Derby was originally in training to become a service dog for a disabled veteran. She was a little too hyper for the job, but that has not been a problem in her new position.

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