Written by Attorney Jonathan Jay Kirschner, Esq.

Man’s best friend. And one of man’s best ‘tools.’ The ultra sensitive olfactory abilities of dogs are legendary. But as this example will show, they are not “limitless.”

In State v. J.R.J., Indian River County Case No.: 31-2014-CF-765-A, a young citizen was returning from a pizza restaurant late one night, with a fresh, redolent pie in back, when the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department stopped him, claiming that he failed to come to “full and complete stop” at a stop sign.

Really? Really?

The law enforcement officer also happened to be a “K9" officer, meaning that he traveled with an animal (which he calls a “partner.”) In this case, the dog was a german shepherd named “Odie.”

Odie seemed like a happy pooch. He trotted around J.R.J.’s truck, took a smell of some nearby bushes, and generally seemed interested in his new environment, as his human “partner” guided him around the outside of the vehicle. Suddenly, when Odie got to the driver’s door, he promptly sat down, unmoving, and staring expectantly at his human “partner,” as though waiting for something.

And he was.

The videotape clearly shows that Odie was waiting for his very best favorite chew toy, which his human partner promptly popped into his mouth. Odie wagged his tail happily.