NALA

The seven-year-old Belgian Malinois has spent the past five years working as a bomb sniffing dog at the University of Illinois with Officer Troy Chew.

“It’s really amazing what the dogs can do, their sense of smell and how very good they are at what they do,” Chew said.

The original idea of purchasing a bomb sniffing dog came after the 9/11 attacks, but it wasn’t until Officer Chew came to the University Police Department from the Danville Police Department that the idea reached fruition.

However, the cost of purchasing the dog, training for both the dog and Officer Chew, a squad car outfitted with a kennel in the back seat and other miscellaneous costs meant that various means of funding had to be found.

“The good thing about it was that we were able to go out to the campus community, to places like the Moms and Dads Associations, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Campus Recreation, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, animal sciences, Willard Airport,” Chew said. “We actually got half of the start-up costs donated to us and then the University gave us the rest.”

Although the startup cost was near $50,000, Chew said that maintaining Nala is fairly cost effective now.

“We use a tennis ball for explosive work and then we use what they call a cong for tracks,” Chew said. “She works for cheap, let me tell ya.”

Yet the importance of having a bomb sniffing dog would overrule the costs.

“We’ve got 40,000 kids on this campus and for the safety and security of this institution, it’s a very, very good tool to have and hopefully we can get more in the future,” Chew said.

In terms of training, Chew said that he works with Nala on a daily basis.

Originally from Holland, Nala and Chew were partnered together through Northern Michigan K-9, Inc. The two trained together there for approximately three weeks. 

“It was for me to learn, to bond with her, to learn her body movements and things like that,” Chew said.

Training consisted of various exercises using scent boxes, a wooden box with a hole in the middle where different objects were placed. Nala started off searching for pieces of tennis balls within the scent boxes.

After learning to identify the tennis ball by scent, various explosives were placed in the scent boxes as well. Eventually the tennis ball was removed so that Nala was accustomed to searching for the explosive materials alone.

The training comes in hand before events such as football and basketball games at the University. Nala, along with two other bomb sniffing dogs not owned by the University, will check the venues for “hot spots,” which are locations that could be considered dangerous areas, as well as checking any vehicles, catering trucks and buses that enter the venues.

But life with Nala isn’t all work. Chew describes Nala, who lives at home with him and plays with his black lab, as a social dog who is fond of interacting with people and other animals.

“I actually spend more time with her than I do my own family because she lives at home with us and she comes to work with me every day,” Chew said. “I’m with her basically 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

So far the duo has yet to stumble upon any real trouble.

“We’ve never actually found anything; life and God willing we never do,” Chew said. “But that’s what we’re here for if it ever does happen.”