| By Big Radio News Staff |
A Janesville police dog helps out the Secret Service.
Ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Janesville last week, police dog Maui and his handler, detective Jeffrey Winiarski, swept a few rooms at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall for electronic devices.
Apart from a few thumb drives, the sweeps came up clean. Winiarski says the Secret Service detail at the Janesville event didn’t have its own animal capable of sniffing out devices that might be actively recording or transmitting data.
Maui is trained to alert on the scent of a substance applied to the circuitry of small electronic devices to prevent overheating. The dog is always practicing — Winiarski hides devices all the time, and Maui earns his meals by finding them.
After the sweeps on Friday, Winiarski says agents asked him to keep Maui on site as a comforting presence for stressed attendees, Secret Service agents and campaign staff.
