- Zero, a Labrador retriever, joins Grantsville Police Department as an electronic storage device K-9.
- Zero detects electronic devices, aiding in crime-solving, including homicide and child sex abuse material cases.
- Donated by Our Rescue, Zero also serves as an emotional support dog at crime scenes.
GRANTSVILLE — Zero, the latest addition to the Grantsville Police Department, has only been on the job for six weeks but has already become an essential piece in the crime-solving puzzle.
A member of the Grantsville K-9 unit, Zero, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever, has acquired a very unique and increasingly essential skill that separates him from his fellow police pups: He can detect any device that transmits data.
Cellphones, smartwatches, thumb drives, hard drives, tablets and more are on Zero's detection list. Whether they're buried in a yard or in a living room couch, he can find them, according to his handler.
"He's a multiple strategy K-9," said Grantsville police detective Bobby Bassett, Zero's handler. "Everything is electronic now, so he can do a lot, and he already has. We use him on homicide investigations to find someone's phone, or with child pornography cases where someone has hidden a phone or tablet with images. He can find it all."
Zero is an electronic storage device K-9, a more recent highly requested K-9 officer. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, these police dogs began gaining popularity around 2017-2018 when police departments sought dogs that could detect what they often could not find on someone's person: cellphones.
While German shepherds are excellent at finding narcotics and people, according to police dog trainers across the country, Labrador retrievers have a nose for searching out triphenylphosphine oxide, the chemical used in all electronics that store memory and, hence, can send data.
Police departments across the country would love a dog like Zero, but this is normally an expensive purchase. The Department of Justice claims electronic storage device dogs can cost between $6,000 and $8,000 each, not including the training costs for their handlers.
The Grantsville Police Department did not have to pay for Zero, though. He was donated by Our Rescue, a nonprofit with the mission to end sex trafficking and child exploitation through many avenues, including a focus on providing K-9s to as many departments as possible.
Zero's unique traits do not stop with device detection. He has also been trained to be an emotional support dog, providing victims of crimes of all ages something to love on when they get stressed, angry, afraid or anxious at a crime scene.
"Even with me, if he sees I'm frustrated, he'll come over to me to give me some support," Bassett said. "We've had kids hug on to him, and anyone at a crime scene hug on to him. It's been great."
Zero is a Labrador retriever, though, meaning he loves to play, be petted and walk around saying hello to everyone. And he is also driven by food.
Bassett gives Zero food when he finds a device. The device can be at a crime scene or "lost" somewhere in their house.
Grantsville Police Lt. Jeff Watson says he has also seen Bassett roaming around the police station, hiding devices all over the place so Zero will have something to find — and know that it is time to eat.
The two-legged officers at the police department also do not mind sharing Zero — and Bassett — when their assistance is needed at a crime scene anywhere in the state. Lehi police have a device-detecting dog, and others are in Salt Lake County. Grantsville officers know all departments could use them.
Zero certainly does not mind the work.
"We're all here to protect people," Bassett said. "If we can help one agency or people, we're definitely up to help. And Zero, when it's time to work, he's ready to work. He's a normal lab until then. But when he has to get work done, he will do it ... and he may get you to love on him, too."
