Half a dozen security dogs and their handlers are training to provide security at Florida Hospital. The German shepherds can smell gunpowder, and start work in February.
Florida Hospital’s Eric Stevens said dogs provide a mobile security tactic.
“We’ve chosen them because as a large multi-campus facility, built to be friendly and open and welcome people, we have a real challenge in decreasing the opportunity for people who have bad intentions,” said Stevens.
He said they hope to hire up to 12 dogs this year. The dogs will be named and get their own employee badges.
Florida Hospital has been upgrading security since the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. The hospital network has already invested $3.5 million. It now has 2,500 video cameras installed on its central Florida campuses, security officers with hand-held metal detectors and body cameras.
