Meet Pixel, the Isle of Wight County K-9 who sniffs out crime on electronic storage devices

WINDSOR — Pixel isn’t like other police dogs.

Unlike a stereotypically aloof German shepherd, Pixel — tail wagging and face grinning — immediately went to be petted when new people came into the room at the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office.

A yellow Labrador decked in a vest with a pink badge and patches, she’s trained to find a new, unusual scent. Pixel is the first electronic-storage detection K-9 in the region and can sniff out phones, laptops, flash drives, AirTags, SD cards and more.

“Anything that can store memory, we train on,” said Investigator Sean Lacy, Pixel’s handler.

The scent she’s after is triphenylphosphine oxide, an industry-standard chemical sprayed on memory chips to keep them from overheating. This makes her useful in cases involving technology someone would want to hide such as child exploitation, financial crimes and even stalking.

Phones and laptops are everywhere, unlike the illicit or explosive substances other police dogs are trained to identify. But Pixel happily ignores the technology around her — until it’s time to work.

She trains every day with Lacy. In fact, the only time she eats is during training. Finding hidden technology is highly motivated by her drive for food.

Lacy clipped a pouch of dog food to his belt and grabbed Pixel’s leash.

“Yeah, you ready to go to work?” he said, his voice pitched higher to grab Pixel’s attention.

For Thursday’s exercise, Pixel was tasked with finding phones in the woods and memory chips in the Sheriff’s Office locker room.

While homing in on a scent, Pixel snuffled through the locker room and knocked over a stack of about 20 books.

“Show me,” Lacy said, wanting a specific book. “Show me.”

Pixel pinpointed one book in particular and sat to signal Lacy. He rewarded her with iterations of “Good girl!” and not just one treat, but a handful of dog food.

Lacy picked up the young-adult novel and flipped it open, showing a tiny memory card slipped into the front cover.

Investigator Sean Lacy holds open a book containing a small memory card that Pixel was able to locate amongst a stack of other books during a training session at Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Office in Windsor, Va. on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot)

“That’s tens of thousands of child exploitative images that you can fit on something of that size and make it very difficult for us to find,” Lacy said.

What might take one investigator hours to find, if they find it at all, Pixel can uncover in minutes. Lacy related a story about a dog in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, who found a location tracking device hidden under layers of carpet in a car.

The Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office applied for Pixel through the nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad. The organization works with police agencies to address human trafficking and child exploitation.

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The county’s application was successful in part because of its location, Lacy said. Lacy and Pixel are able to work with local, state and federal agencies in Hampton Roads and throughout the greater region. Operation Underground Railroad paid for Pixel’s training and will cover her food, supplies and vet bills during her working career. Lacy estimated Pixel’s training alone cost $20,000.

Pixel is one of four electronic storage detection dogs in Virginia. Since the state legalized marijuana in 2021, dogs who were trained to find that scent have been retired, including one at the Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office.

Pixel also serves as a therapy dog in the sheriff’s office.

“We see the worst of the worst like every day. Sometimes it sucks,” Lacy said. “So when she comes in the office, everybody just gets in a better mood.”

Amid the cubicles, there are dog beds and toys for Pixel. Her yellow fur also gets everywhere. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Tommy Potter said, “We issue our officers guns, handcuffs and lint rollers.”

This year, Pixel has been deployed nine times, located 29 devices and aided in four arrests.

Cianna Morales, 757-957-1304, cianna.morales@virginiamedia.com