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The Waco Kid wrote:Back when I was a senior in high school I was called out to the parking lot by the ISD police. The police had a K-9 unit doing random searches on the student's parked cars and the dog apparently had a "hit" on my truck. The police instructed me to unlock my truck, which I did, and they begain searching. I had been dove hunting the weekend prior to this and thought I had cleaned out my truck but missed one unfired #8 12ga shell. The officer claim that was what the dog alerted too, we would have to asked the dog to know for sure, but that was all that was found anyway. All that happend was I was told to do a better job of cleaning out the truck after hunting trips. Take the story however you want but I figure those dogs have a good sniffer.

I wouldn't disagree with the fact the dog alerted on your truck. If you climbed back in with clothes on that had powder residue, then potentially that rubbed off on the upholstery and would be enough to catch. I could be wrong, but from what I have been told, a clean car with a clean pistol locked in the console would be hard to detect from outside.

SD4 wrote:Also, it was noted that the dogs will sometimes get super excited and home in on a leftover Mcdonald's bag crumpled up in the floorboard.

Had a officer friend who was a handler back home. He tells a funny story that confirms K-9 officers are still dogs at heart.

One incident they were sweeping a house for a BG. As they went through the kitchen, the K-9 officer (Greif, pronounced with a long I, like Gr-eye-f) nearly yanked his arm out of socket trying to make a snack of some Cheerios that had spilled on the floor. The handler got him back on track and they proceeded down the hall in the back of the house. About that time the BG came busting out of a bedroom and out the back door. My buddy released Greif to chase down the BG, and he started across the yard after him. Just as Greif passed a bush, a nice big cottontail rabbit came running out at a 90 degree angle to the BG. Greif detoured as he decided the rabbit would be a lot more fun to chase than the BG. Luckily his training kicked back in, and he headed his handlers command and got back on the BG. He nailed the perp in the tukis with a full set of teeth just as he was headed over the fence at the back of the yard.

And, to stay on subject, I doubt that just a gun locked in the car would be able to be triggered on. Explosives/firearms dogs usually need more than a mag full of sealed ammo to detect from outside of a closed and locked the car. Searching inside the car might be a different story.