Beth Warren

@BethWarrenCJ

Parents in Kentuckiana are turning to a private K9 company to search their teens' rooms for drugs.

An east Louisville couple feared their teen might have smoked a few joints. But when Michael Davis, who owns The Last Chance K9 Service, led a search of their home, a German Shepherd found four grams of heroin.

Tucked into a pair of tube socks.

Davis, who opened his company on East Spring Street in New Albany in September, said his teams at TLC have already searched more than 50 homes in Kentuckiana.

In some instances, they have found nothing.

But about 90 percent of the time, he said, his company's dogs find narcotics such as barbiturates, methamphetamines, heroin, marijuana and cocaine hidden in rooms, bathrooms and cars by teens or young adults still living with their parents. One teen, who has a 5-year-old brother, tucked marijuana inside a red children's cereal box, reasoning it was a perfect hiding spot since no one in his house liked that brand, said Davis, who is military trained.

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Companies that offer private K9 searches have continued to pop up across the country during the past decade from Kentucky to Chicago, North Carolina and California as parents scramble for answers.

One Floyd County father, James, said he noticed his 14-year-old daughter hanging out with new friends and an odd and unpleasant odor in her room, but never saw drugs before he called Davis' K9 service.

"I'm not a snooping parent," said James, who asked to be identified only by his first name to protect his daughter's privacy. "I want my daughter to be able to trust me, but I gotta protect her.

"I know girls can be sneaky and hide things in places I wouldn't even think of."

He spotted a company billboard featuring a German Shepherd in New Albany, similar to ones sprinkled throughout Louisville, vowing to help worried parents confidentially for $99. It's stark message: "Our dogs find drugs!"

The concept seemed a little radical to James, but he said he felt desperate.

"I was so nervous," the father said. "What can occur from letting this stranger in my house with a drug dog? But it's been nothing but positive."

While some parents invite the dog detectors into their homes in front of their children, James waited until his daughter was at school.

Miss Oakley, one of Davis' specially trained dogs, meandered through the house without hitting on anything. James said that made him briefly hopeful he had been wrong.

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But when the German Shepherd headed to the teen's room, she zipped over to a makeup stand and within seconds found a hidden glass pipe of marijuana that was smaller than a tube of lipstick and hidden in an Altoids can.

"My heart just sank," James said. "I would have easily overlooked it."

Davis sat down with the father and advised him. "Don't yell or scream at her. Just sit down and talk to her. Be stern but be cool, calm and collected," he said.

When the teen got off the school bus, her father said his first words were, "Baby, we need to talk." She was shocked that a K9 searched her room but was more regretful than angry, saying, "OK Dad, you got me. It's mine," James said.

Davis, who has tactical training in the detection of drugs, firearms and bombs, said the majority of his work has been focused on bigger contracts, including searches of businesses and other private contracts he said he's not at liberty to discuss.

But he said he's motivated to aid parents, adding a personal touch and pep talk because of his own experiences. He said had a tough upbringing in Louisville, experimented with marijuana and saw some of his friends progress to harder drugs. He was inspired to fight addiction in his own way after an addict seeking money in 2005 attacked his pregnant fiancee, causing her to lose the baby.

"We want to take drugs off the streets," Davis said of his team, which includes other dog handlers with military backgrounds.

"What we do is help the family fix the issue," he said. "We're not the police."

Davis said he has tried to reach out to several police departments to discuss his business but has received little response, but some allow him to drop off any drugs that are found in their jurisdictions.

A police source at one of those departments, who asked not to be named, said he has met with Davis and is aware of schools and businesses across the nation using private K9 services for searches. He said he didn't personally know if Davis had turned in drugs to his police force but said he has concerns about how parents are going to dispose of any illegal narcotics.

Davis said he encourages parents to dispose of small amounts of drugs or call their local police department if the amount is large.

"We've had to leave narcotics in the hands of many parents," Davis said. "And that's sad. That's not what we're designed for."

James said he destroyed the pipe found in his daughter's room with a baseball bat as she watched, arms crossed. He then swept it up and tossed it in the trash.

"I feel very relieved now that it's out there," he said.

James said he confided in his daughter about his own experimentation with marijuana in his youth and how drugs led to bigger trouble for some of his friends. Both teared up, and now James said he feels a closer bond.

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MeriBeth Adams-Wolf, executive director of Our Place Drug and Alcohol Education Services, down the street from the K9 business in New Albany, said she's not ready to endorse the service but called it "a tool for parents to consider."

"The only caveat I would have: 'Be prepared with what you need to do next,' " she said.

"What happens if they're not willing to change, not remorseful?"

"A lot of young people think they're in control and they're not," said Adams, recommending an evaluation with an addiction specialist when drugs are found. "They can even make promises to quit and mean it and be unable to do so."

Parents can get tips on how to talk to kids about drugs from the National Institute on Drug Abuse's website. Davis provides more information on his business on The Last Chance (TLC) K9 Service's website.

Reporter Beth Warren can be reached at (502) 582-7164 or bwarren@courier-journal.com and on Twitter at BethWarrenCJ.

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