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Utah’s famous ‘child porn-smelling’ dog has died a hero after leading a life of putting offenders behind bars.
Weber County Sheriff’s Office announced the tragic passing of their retired police dog ‘URL’, who helped authorities complete more than 2,000 warrants to obtain digital evidence for child exploitation cases.
URL was just shy of his eighth birthday and retired in January last year.
They wrote: “URL was enjoying retirement with his original handler Detective Cameron Hartman of the Weber County Attorney’s Office (formerly with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office), after a brief placement with another handler from July 2021 to January of 2022.”
URL was the fourth pooch in the country to be certified and trained as an Electronic Storage Detection Canine.
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The dog had a ruff - no pun intended - start, as he was bounced around from a couple of different animal shelters and was initially deemed to be an ‘untrainable’ dog due to his bad behavior.
However, the Central Indiana Labrador Rescue & Adoption (CILRA) recognized the hound’s unique talents and became committed to finding him a home.
It led him to be trained as part of a joint operation between the Weber County Sheriff’s Office and the Weber Morgan Narcotics Strike Force.
It was here where he was taught to sniff out electronic media storage that humans might otherwise miss.
Some of the most remarkable pieces of evidence he uncovered in his lifetime include finding a micro-SD card sealed in a baby jar placed in a small pencil box full of items located in a large cedar chest, an SD Card that was high on a shelf at a Utah residence, a cell phone hidden in a book, and even cell phone parts hidden in a wall behind a toilet in the Weber County Jail.
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As a result of his unique skills, the puppy earned the nickname ‘The Porn Sniffing Dog’.
However, his most outstanding achievements came when the pup was interviewed by actor Terry Crews and featured on an episode of Cops.
Weber County Sheriff’s Office also included a statement from his former owner Cam, which said in part: “You brought so much joy to the children who were home during search warrants, the countless kids of all ages as I got to show you off at dozens of public schools, colleges, public demonstrations, and church groups.”
He continued: “It's been an unbelievable honor to have been the largest part of your unstable life. I will miss you terribly until I get to see you again.”
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Rest easy, little guy.
Charisa Bossinakis