Estie, an electronics sniffing dog, is currently in the running for America’s Favorite Pet.IMAGE: Screenshot of Estie on America's Favorite Pet
“Her name is Estie because it sounds like an SD Card,” Sgt. Laura Grantham, Estie’s handler, told Fox10 News. “She works Internet Crimes Against Children Cases—so she finds hidden storage drives, flash drives, hidden cellphones, and things like that.”
Grantham reported she trains with Estie daily. The article shared that Grantham hides SD cards, everywhere, even taping them inside outlet covers, and makes Estie find them.
In 2023, the department received the police dog from a nonprofit organization called Operation Underground Railroad, an organized aimed at combatting child trafficking, according to the article.
Estie relies on a keen sense of smell to detect items that can be easy to miss, the article said. This is possible because every electronic device contains a circuit board, the article explains. During the manufacturing process of that circuit board, manufacturers spray triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) on it to prevent overheating of the circuit board. “That’s the vapor that she is imprinted on,” Grantham told the media outlet.
Estie is also cross trained as a comfort dog for child abuse victims, the report noted.
The article noted that Estie made some special public appearances at Mardi Gras and is currently in the running for America’s Favorite Pet. People interested in voting for Estie can click here.
