Thomas Pinkerton, George Hilf and Michael R. Van Leer thought they were reporting for a routine day when they arrived one Monday morning at the state police barracks in Belle Vernon. Instead, the law enforcement officers began 24 hours that would test them and their bomb-sniffing dogs as never before. Pennsylvania state troopers Pinkerton and Hilf and Florida Highway Patrol member Van Leer - and their dogs - are undergoing an extensive training course. They have responded to five actual calls in the past - to courthouses in Cambria and York counties, to high schools in Dubois and Cedar Cliff and to the state Capitol. "They've been able to look into the eyes of people who are afraid to go into their own buildings," state police Cpl. Kenneth Munshower said. When Hilf joined his two peers after a drive from Harrisburg, the three endured what Munshower called their biggest test. The training troopers were sent on a series of calls throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. From schools to malls, the troopers had to search for potential bombs. The troopers had two added assignments: reveal the person tailing them, and protect their cruisers from a person out to "plant a bomb" in their vehicles. "They'll be tired, the dogs will be tired, but they'll have to go on," Munshower said. The exercise highlighted the need for troopers who handle bomb-sniffing dogs. Currently, Munshower is the only Pennsylvania state trooper who handles a bomb-sniffing dog. Hilf is nearing the end of a nearly three-month training program with a Belgian Malandis named Loba. Both Pinkerton and Van Leer are four weeks into the program. Pinkerton's dog is a Dutch Shepherd named Santos, while Van Leer trains with a black Labrador retriever named Maverick. When they are done training, Pennsylvania will have three troopers trained to handle bomb-sniffing dogs capable of detecting more than 2,000 types of explosives. Van Leer will be the first such officer in Florida. These officers already have endured plenty. "They've been out in the rain, they've been out in the snow," Munshower said. "They've been in the worst conditions. With a bomb, you can't afford to miss. "And there's no guarantee they'll graduate." About 99 percent of bomb threats are false alarms, Munshower said. But that only adds to the danger. "The more times they find nothing, the more paranoid they become," Munshower said. "You have to trust the dog. Only these types of exercises get them to trust the dog." Pinkerton said a strong desire to work with dogs and the challenges they present motivated him. The job has also been challenging, he added. The troopers crawled on their hands and knees in a cramped area beneath the state Capitol. Van Leer is being sponsored by Florida International University. A 16-year veteran, Van Leer has been working with a drug sniffing police dog named Goose for the past 14 years. In his sport utility vehicle, Goose sits on one side and Maverick sits on the other. Sept. 11 made training new troopers with bomb sniffing dogs "a good idea," but the need for them was evident even earlier. Bomb threats increased dramatically after the massacre at Columbine High School.

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