Several officers with the State Bureau of Investigation’s K-9 unit have spent part of their week at the N.C. State Fair helping educate fairgoers on the work they do in service to the public. Among the mix was Zoli, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, who is a trained human remains detection dog or cadaver dog.
Zoli is one of six cadaver dogs in service across the state, part of the larger 16-dog SBI unit that also includes dogs trained to detect explosives.
Zoli and Kelli Phillips, her handler and assistant special agent in charge, saw service following Hurricane Helene, working across treacherous terrain in search of those missing. Phillips said she and Zoli worked 16-hour days following Helene, teaming up with a variety of different agencies with their searches.
Phillips said she is trained to be able to recognize when her dog needs a break.
The work whether involving individual searches or larger searches like post-Helene is tough but rewarding, Phillips said.
“It’s never easy when you have to do a search for a child, but allowing a family to have closure makes it worthwhile,” she said.
Phillips, who has been with the SBI for 12 years and a K-9 handler for the past 10 years, calls it a great job that allows her to do something different every day and allows her to “take your best friend with you everywhere you go.”
The State Fair is a place that engages all your senses, from the sounds of squeals of laughter and screams from the rides, to the smells of funnel cakes, Polish sausage and kettle corn. In the midst of all those potential distractions, Zoli chewed on a toy, accepted pets from strangers and hung out patiently with Phillips, waiting for her turn to show what she could do.
But once she knew her search for the hidden target was about to begin, she was immediately focused, even quivering a bit in anticipation of going to work. When she located the hidden target, she sat down, indicating she had found what she was looking for, just as she would do in the field.
Continued training is a big component of ensuring Zoli and other dogs like her can do their jobs well. Dogs and handlers must complete 16 hours of training a month.
“We just returned from training in Dayton, Ohio, and we also train at Western Carolina University’s Forensic Osteology Research Station or FOREST,” Phillips said. “We try to train on the types of environments we feel like we will be faced with.”
Phillips said she and Zoli had not been in a situation like Helene before. “It opened our eyes to the different types of environments we may have to conduct searches in,” she said. “You are only as good as your training.”
Life is not all about work for Zoli, who lives with Phillips and her former retired K-9.
“She gets to be a pet at night,” Phillips said, adding that one of Zoli’s favorite non-work thing to do is play with her retired “brother.”
“She loves him, but he doesn’t love her. She wants to play, but he isn’t always interested in that.”
Check out the SBI display in front of the Scott Building and inside the building for more about the agency.