Three new deputies named

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens made the right choice when she decided against pinning badges on her latest deputies Thursday, instead opting to hang it around their necks.

It probably wouldn’t have been pretty, considering the three deputies are the latest generation of bomb-sniffing dogs to be stationed at John Wayne Airport.

In the noisy surroundings of the airport’s baggage claim area, Hutchens and federal officials welcomed Cyril, a 2-year-old German shepherd, Goldy, a 5-year-old German shepherd, and Rico, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, to the department.

The three are partnered with their handlers, Deputies Dave Ray, Len Letze and Lynn Ridenour, respectively.

All three men are trained bomb technicians and are on the Sheriffs Department bomb squad unit. John Wayne Airport’s explosives detection unit is one of only two in the country to have bomb technicians partnered with bomb-sniffing dogs.

Two of the dogs are filling vacancies left by dogs who retired: Ali, who served for seven years; and Gogo, who served for more than six.

Rico, who was named Top Dog from his 2008 graduating class at the Transportation Security Administration’s Explosives Detection K-9 Handler Course in Texas, showed off his skills. Out of three bags laid in front of him, he successfully identified the bag with explosive material inside.

He let his owner know not with a bark, not by diving onto the bag and pawing at it, but by sitting next to the bag quietly.

“It’s a passive response. We don’t want them doing what dogs trained for drugs do and scratching at it,” said Sgt. Edward Anderson, who’s overseen the airport’s explosive detection unit since 2002. “They can detect just about everything.”

It’s a 10-week training program followed by dry-runs set up by the TSA and constant refreshers that has made even former presidents of the United States trust the airport’s dogs to keep them safe when they land here, Anderson said.

The three dogs are expected to be available on 45 minutes’ notice and together have the airport covered every hour it’s open, which is typically from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m., Anderson said. They will spend a majority of their time checking baggage scheduled to depart from the airport, he said.

Did You Know?

 Each canine team costs between $40,000 and $50,000 to support.

 There are more than 420 explosive detection teams assigned to more than 75 airports and 13 mass transit terminals in the United States.

 JWA’s canine teams spend at least 80% of their on-duty time at the airport.

 All teams must spend at least 25% of their time checking air cargo.

 The United States’ canine breeding program is modeled after Australia’s Customs Service Breeding Program.