ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
As her classmates await their turn, Hannah Funk, a third-grader at Hillsboro Elementary School, pets Rico, the K-9 officer for the Hillsboro Police Department. Rico’s handler, Officer Brad Richards, is overseeing the encounter. Prior to going outside for friendship duty, the children watched Rico’s skills at sniffing out methamphetamines during a classroom demonstration. Richards and Rico were invited to address the third-graders after they had read a book in class about about drug dogs. Richards and Rico recently won second place in a competition among police drug dogs in this part of the state. The primary task for each handler and dog was to locate five drug smells hidden in the same house as quickly as possible.