Medford, Ore. — A shelter dog given a second chance is receiving awards for getting a huge amount of drugs off the street.
Jim Boeckl first laid eyes on a black labrador named Sally in 2014. She was a rescue dog, with a rough start at life, but she had focus. Now, armed with a new name, ‘Rainey’ is one of the Rogue Valley’s most decorated drug dogs.
A second chance for a rescue dog turned drug canine. Boeckl found Rainey when she was about two years old. She was pregnant with seven puppies, and was battling duel ear infections, but still showed a laser-like focus.
“I’ll say this, she’s not much like an ordinary dog, because she has the most intense drive. She has almost the highest drive of any dog,” Boeckl said.
Now two years later, that drive has made Rainey one of Jackson County’s most successful drug dogs.
“When you clip that leash on her, it’s kind of like you have 500 horse power,” he said.
But having a drug dog isn’t always the easiest off the clock.
“There’s times when you want to be calm and quiet and they don’t. You have to manage that sometimes. It’s a challenge, she has 100 horsepower in each leg and another 100 in her tail,” Boeckl said.
But he said when Rainey’s in her element there’s nothing quite like it.
“It’s like a miracle to watch her work,” Boeckl said.
Rainey won an award soon after her drug bust back in 2014, after she sniffed out 37 pounds of cocaine at one drug scene.
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