Dogs To Visit Hinsdale South For Security Demonstration

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale South High School alerted parents and students that dogs would be tried out as part of its security plan after school Wednesday.

In a mass email Tuesday evening, Principal Kari Peronto said the dogs would mainly be in the school's large, common areas starting about 2:30 p.m. The dogs detect weapons and explosives.

"While we scheduled this time to minimize disruption of the school day, we understand that some students may still be in the building," Peronto said. "This visit is part of our learning process as we explore the potential benefits of using detection dogs as an additional layer of security."

After the exercise, the school plans to determine the continued use of dogs as part of the security plan, she said.

Peronto said drug-detecting dogs would not be part of Wednesday's demonstration.

Hinsdale Central underwent the same procedure a week ago.

After a South student was found with a loaded gun in late November, the school deployed its weapons detection system every day. Parents at a public meeting encouraged this.

Starting in January, the district went to a random system at both campuses.