East Texas security company adds four legs, new skills to K9 team
Tyler TX September 26 2022
Not too long ago, Heat, a red nose pit bull, was facing a death sentence.
Now, she’s the newest tool Bullock Investigations is offering to schools, events and venues — an open-air gun-sniffing dog.
“It’s a progression of things,” said Lt. Nick Gaviria, head of the security company’s K-9 division, adding that the NFL and large venues in the Metroplex already use these kinds of services — dogs that can detect explosives or firearms. Bullock Investigations, with offices in Longview and Tyler, is bringing that to East Texas.
The company already provided the services of narcotics and bomb sniffing dogs. Heat, who joined the team in recent weeks, adds open-air gun detection.
“For small rural East Texas it’s becoming a need mainly because of Uvalde. It was brought up by some of the school districts,” Gaviria said.
Heat, who is about 2 1/2 years old, works with Sgt. Cory Thrasher. He and Gaviria explained that Heat was taken from a shelter by Sector K9, a nonprofit organization that, among other programs, has a “Rescue2Resource” initiative — working with shelters “to select dogs who have the willingness and focus to be a police K9,” the organization’s website says.
“She was on a kill list to be euthanized,” Thrasher said.
High energy pit bulls are perfect for this type of work, Gaviria said. They’re often too rambunctious for a normal household, he said.
“(Sector K9) is gearing that energy toward something more productive,” he said. “You want those rambunctious dogs for this type of scenario and this type of work.”
The use of rescue dogs also lowers the cost of providing these kind of dogs for police departments, for example.
This week, Thrasher demonstrated Heat’s abilities, hiding smokeless powder — one of the main components in ammunition — in a magnetic box under a bench at Heritage Plaza in downtown Longview. She quickly found it, and Thrasher “paid” her — with play time with her favorite ball.
If it were a person carrying a gun, Gaviria said Heat would follow that person. Thrasher said she can detect the odors that trigger her — smokeless powder, gunshot residue or gun oil, for instance — within 2 feet.
“She’ll try to find the source and follow it to wherever it’s at,” Gaviria said.
In an open carry state, Gaviria said the point isn’t to deter people from legally carrying guns. The goal is to deter people from taking weapons where they’re not allowed by law — a school stadium or auditorium, or venues with restrictions on weapons, for instance.
“We’re not police. We’re private security. We’re here just for the personal protection of the students and our clients,” he said. Bullock Investigation’s primary canine customers are the 23 schools it serves in Regions 7 and 8. Since Heat just completed her training and joined Bullock Investigations, she hasn’t yet been out working
