NEW YORK — Assured Environments' canine teams just completed their yearly recertification, designed to check each canine's precision and accuracy, teach new identification techniques and update handlers on news and trends in bed bug infestation patterns.
The yearly certification procedure is conducted according to the testing standards of the National Pest Management Association and requires the Assured canine teams to work under a strict time limit to find multiple "live hides." Failure to find one or both results in the failure to recertify. Only 21 teams are currently certified by NPMA in NY State to find bed bugs, five of which are with Assured Environments.
"Mandy [a canine team member] can access places I can't," says handler Bill Quinn. "Plus, I know she's on top of her game because she just passed her recertification again for the third year in a row!" Mandy is a six-year-old Beagle-Basset hound mix who loves bones, balls and squirrels. She lives with her handler, Bill and his family when she's not at work. By having the canines live at home with their handlers, Assured Environments solidifies the dog-handler relationship. When on the job, Mandy signals to Bill that she has detected the presence of bed bugs by pointing with her snout. He's learned to pick up her subtle cues that let him know she is on the scent. "She'll usually go back and forth pretty quick and then spend more time on a certain spot before she decides to signal."