Our dog team consists of Hawkeye, his handler, and an agricultural biologist. Hawkeye jumps up onto the belt and walks along like he’s on a treadmill sniffing packages as they go by.
During a typical inspection, Hawkeye’s handler will direct Hawkeye through hundreds of packages. Hawkeye uses his powerful nose to sniff each package. Once he detects the scent of an agricultural product, Hawkeye will alert our handler by scratching on the package.
When Hawkeye alerts on a package, the assisting biologist takes the parcel off the belt and will inspect the contents to determine if it is allowed into California. All agricultural material shipped into California must comply with quarantine regulations, labeling regulations, and must be free of invasive species of insects, plant diseases, and weeds.
