Bringing forward from last thread for Oriah (hope that's okay)
Questions for HRD Dog Experts:
1. Can human decomp be "transferred" onto an item it comes in contact with in passing? eg. A body was once on a floor. Someone removes body and cleans floor. A different person comes in and walks on the clean floor. Would the 2nd person's shoes have remnants of the decomp, from walking on the floor?
A: Possible, but variable. In that instance, a lot would depend on what was used to clean the floor, and what kind of shoes the person was wearing. And the amount of decomp present.
2. How much decomp is required to be on an item for the item to cause an HRD Dog to alert? Will a well trained dog alert on a minute amount?
A: It depends on the training the dog has had. Yes, a well-trained HRD dog can alert on a very small amount of decomp.
3. If an HRD Dog alerts in one area, and runs to another, will they continue to run to every single area decomp has come into contact with?
A: If there are multiple locations of decomp in an area, an HRD dog should alert on the closest and most dense particle scent they are exposed to. After alerting and being released by their handler, they should proceed to the next most dense scent area and alert. Repeat, until the dog stops alerting.
4. What is the geographical radius that an HRD Dog will alert on, once it has picked up one alert?
A: Not sure of the question?
5. What is the time frame that a decomp scent will remain detectable for?
A: Human remains go through many different stages of decomp- and decomp scent depend on a lot of variables (such as environment.) HRD dogs can be trained to distinguish many different 'aged' scents. So it depends on the dog, the scent training of the dog, and the circumstances of the remains detected.
6. Do bleach and other chemicals interfere with the HRD dogs ability to alert?
A: Sometimes. It depends upon the density of the scent particles deposited.
7. Will a K9 SAR dog alert, even if the missing person has not actually been in a room? For example, if the missing person A has been in contact while alive with person B, could enough of A's living scent, be transferred to person B, enough for the SAR dog to hit in B's apartment?
A: Not likely, unless there is a transfer of a scent article(s).