Wilson County Schools to get gun detection dogs this year

WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — With the new school year starting in a few weeks, safety is a top priority for many in Middle Tennessee.

For example, Wilson County Schools will have gun detection K9s sniffing out firearms in the hallways as the ‘Paws on Patrol’ program expands beyond the Lebanon Special School District, where Blaze works as a K9.

“It’s the best job in the world. I get to go to work every day with my dog,” Dusty Burton, Blaze’s handler, said as he scratched the dog’s ears.

A couple parents brought the idea forward after a gun was found inside a backpack at Winfree Bryant Middle School in February 2023.

“What we are trying to accomplish is keeping guns off school campuses. With the ability that he has to detect a handgun, it’s just phenomenal,” said Capt. Scott Moore with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office.

Now that the program is expanding to all of Wilson County Schools, two more K9s will be added to the force.

“The main reason for it is to keep schools safer, and that’s what the goal is,” Moore said.

The sheriff’s office continues to focus on school safety. Not only was Wilson County the first in the state to get a school resource officer (SRO) in every school, but also one of the first to get a gun detection dog.

“K9 Blaze was the second of its own in the whole entire state,” Moore said.

Not only are the K9s a line of first defense, but they also help boost morale for students.

“We’ve had students that have had meltdowns, and you bring Blaze in and they’ll automatically just totally start smiling,” Moore said.

According to Moore, the K9s and their handlers are in Auburn this month for training and will start during the first two weeks of the school year.

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