Drug dog searches find 30 firearms, make 1,500 drug seizures in DFW schools this year

A company using trained dogs to search DFW schools says they’ve found up to 30 guns on local campuses this school year.

The images the search team provided to NBC 5 are striking: dozens of pills and handguns found on campuses in the Metroplex.

It’s the reality these security experts are trying to put a stop to.

“Our biggest fears are fentanyl and firearms,” said Josh Ellis, owner of H1 K9 Consultants. “Those are the two biggest things, even as a handler.”

H1 K9 is a private company that uses dog handlers to conduct campus searches in partnership with 100 local districts.

The company told NBC 5 that since August, they’ve found up to 30 guns and made around 1500 drug seizures in DFW schools.

“The numbers are there, and it’s very scary,” Ellis said.

For the last few years, Garland ISD has been using these search dogs on campuses every day.

“A kid can’t learn when they’re looking over their shoulder, that’s our motto,” said Mark Quinn, director of security with Garland ISD. “So we wanted to add the K9 program, it’s just another tool in our toolbox.”

During a typical search, the dog team would arrive on a Garland ISD campus and make their way to a classroom that had been cleared of students who had left their backpacks behind.

The dog would move quickly from bag to bag before indicating they’d found something.

Inside one bag in the simulated search was a small handgun. In another backpack, imitation fentanyl.

“It is a great tool that we can use and we do use it to find those things on campus and get them out of here,” Quinn said.

District leaders told NBC 5 that when guns or narcotics are found they launch an evaluation of the student, considering tools like discipline, mental health resources, or criminal consequences.

While they couldn’t be everywhere all the time, this team of canine searchers hoped they could play some part in making campuses more secure.

“You know every time we take a gun out of a school, it’s a good feeling that we did something great that day,” Ellis said. “That maybe we saved a life that day.”