POST FALLS - Koda is learning a new way to take a bite out of crime.

The 2-year-old male German shepherd K-9 that arrived in Post Falls in December is enrolled in a five-week training program to be a certified drug detector to complement his apprehension and search skills.

"He's a superstar," said Frank Bowne, Koda's handler. "He's doing beyond what I thought he'd be at this point in the training."

Koda completed his second week of training at the Post Falls School District's bus storage area on Friday. He's also learning in different facilities such as schools and other vehicles.

"He can go into a place and find drugs in a matter of minutes, whereas it may take an officer hours or they may never find them," Chief Scot Haug said.

Koda's progress has amazed Haug.

At training at the Post Falls High cafeteria, a cotton ball with marijuana odor on it was placed under a chair.

"I thought it would take him 30 minutes to find and that dog found it in less than 15 minutes," Haug said. "I was very impressed with how he's learning this skill."

Koda is learning drug sniffing similar to how other dogs learn new tricks.

"We're taking his sense of smell and high drive and, as soon as he touches his nose to it, you give him a toy," Bowne said, adding that Koda's award is generally a tug toy. "He makes the connection that every time I find this item, I get a toy."

Haug said the skills are needed as criminals go to great lengths to hide drugs in places such as door panels.

The K-9 program is funded by drug seizure money and donations.

"We're hoping we'll be able to find more drugs and expand the program," Haug said.

It's costing about $2,500 to certify Koda as a drug sniffer, but would have been roughly $6,000 more had Bowne and Koda travelled to California to train at the company the dog was bought from.

The trainer has moved to Post Falls, so the cost has been cut considerably.

In addition, the department has access to the K-9 team during training.

The availability came in handy about two weeks ago when a SWAT team converged on a home and Koda was called upon in case he needed to safely apprehend a fleeing suspect. But it turns out the suspect wasn't inside the home.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department has two K-9 units and is getting a third.