Cadaver dogs became the star witnesses in the Casey Anthony murder trial today. The dogs are invaluable to police and rescue services because their sense of smell is many times amplified over what humans can detect.
However, the effectiveness of cadaver dogs was questioned by defense attorney Jose Baez.
While some think that properly trained dogs rarely make mistakes, there are others who say they can't be relied upon exclusively in the identification of deceased victims, especially if their remains have been moved.
There is no doubting the usefulness of cadaver dogs. They were an integral part of the process of reclaiming victims of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York.
The stars in this canine cameo are Gerus and Bones, both of them trained to alert on dead bodies. Tuesday, Gerus testified through the auspices of his trainer, Deputy Jason Forgey of the Orlando Sheriff's Department.
Tuesday, Forgey had testified that Gerus alerted to the scent of decomposition in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car. Attorney Baez objected to Forgey's attribution of human-like thoughts and feelings to Gerus, who was described as "tired" and "overworked" when the dog failed to alert a second time.
Lead prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick subjected Kirsten Brewer, Bones' handler, to a variety of test questions about Bones' training.
How did Bones perform? One hundred percent, according to the police training logs. The only time Bones failed to alert at the appropriate time wasn't during training -- it was after the Anthony lawn had been dug up by police.
The prosecution offered that the odorous material could have dissipated or been destroyed by the digging.
Trainer Kirsten Brewer showed the jury where Bones had alerted in the Anthony backyard July 17, 2008. She drew a rough circle on the "telestrator" screen, at the spot where the dog alerted. Gerus had alerted in a nearby area, some 6 feet away.
The dogs are trained on blood, placenta, various human tissues and bones. Contrary to popular views, the dogs are not rewarded with treats or other food. Brewer explained that her dog, Bones, would be rewarded with a tennis ball for his efforts.
One of the main objectives in training a cadaver dog is to teach the dog to distinguish between the odors of human and animal decomposition.
Prosecutor Burdick called out a litany of real life occasions when Bones had been called out to do searches. Bones didn't alert on the location of remains of various animals -- later dug up by police -- a dead dog, a possum, a squirrel.
He did successfully alert when called upon to find fragments of bones, human bodies, a submerged and drowned teenager, and a blanket. It was later determined that a baby had been born atop the blanket and that the blanket was then discarded into the trash.
Defense Attorney Jose Baez told the court he could not question the canine "witnesses" and that they had no business in a capital murder case. His cross examination of Bones' trainer was succinct and scored points.
Could the dog have alerted blood from a finger prick? Yes. Did Bones' alert a second time after police had dug up the section of yard he had alerted on in the first place? No.
It was good stuff, enough for a jury to consider the dogs a useful indicator, but not definitive proof that a dead body had lain on the ground in the Anthony backyard.
Anthony Ventre is a freelance writer who has written for several weekly and daily newspapers, for Demand Studios, and for AOL Online. He is a frequent Yahoo contributor, concentrating in news and financial writing.
