Adventures Of A Crime-Fighting Pig -- Porker May Have Canine Counterparts Licked

LAKEWOOD, Pierce County - "Rookie" the pig was having a hard time finding the pot.

He oinked, he grunted, he wagged his skinny black tail.

His trainer oinked back to encourage him. "Come on, Rookie, you can do it," said John Jimenez, a Pierce County sheriff's deputy. With a deep snort, Rookie nudged a box containing a half ounce of marijuana.

His reward: a grape and a carmel-coated peanut.

All in a day's work for Rookie, a 15-pound Vietnamese pot-bellied pig in training as a county narc. He'll never be hoof-in-paw with his canine counterparts - think of him as a reserve pig - but over the next several months, his trainers plan to teach him to detect the hard stuff, hash, cocaine and the like.

"In some ways, he's better than a dog. His nose is always to the ground," said Tacoma police K-9 Officer Armin Keen. "He can walk under cars easily to check for hidden compartments, and doesn't mind getting his stomach dirty."

A pig raiser in Thurston County donated Rookie to the department.

Keen and Jimenez, who train Rookie in their spare time, started by placing grapes in a box with marijuana. The pig learned to associate the food with drugs, and eventually sniffed out the illegal stuff, even when his treat had been removed.

Rookie's also - dare we say it? - a bit of a ham. He can sit up and beg, and loves to put on drug-sniffing shows for grade-school kids, delivering an anti-drug message.

"If you're pigheaded about wanting to use drugs, we'll go hog wild trying to stop you," said Jimenez, an endless source of pig puns, some of which we promised not to print.

Th-th-th-that's all folks.