Crimes solved by animals

Questions 1–10

1. Q 01What was the usual specialty of the US lab that cracked Prince Edward Island's pet-hair murder case?

   • AThe study of genetic diseases
   • BForensic ballistics analysis
   • CAgricultural plant breeding
   • DVeterinary vaccine research
   Show answer

   The study of genetic diseases

   The brine

   The Laboratory of Genomic Diversity usually worked on the study of genetic diseases, not forensics, so it had to invent a new animal DNA test for the case.

2. Q 02Which breed was chosen as the ideal police dog when the first dedicated police-dog school opened at Greenheide?

   • ARottweiler
   • BGerman Shepherd Dog
   • CDoberman Pinscher
   • DAiredale Terrier
   Show answer

   German Shepherd Dog

   The brine

   German forces led early scientific work on police dog breeding and training, selecting the German Shepherd and opening the first training school at Greenheide in 1920.

3. Q 03Nick Carter, America's most famous man-trailing bloodhound, is credited with following a scent trail how old?

   • A12 days
   • B3 days
   • C36 hours
   • D30 days
   Show answer

   12 days

   The brine

   The Kentucky hound is credited with more than 650 finds, and the flood of publicity he received is thought to be the source of much bloodhound folklore.

4. Q 04A Labrador named Bear found the flash drive that helped convict which Subway pitchman?

   • AJared Fogle
   • BLance Armstrong
   • CTiger Woods
   • DBill Cosby
   Show answer

   Jared Fogle

   The brine

   Electronics-detection dogs like Bear, who helped convict Jared Fogle, are trained on triphenylphosphine oxide, a chemical that coats the circuit boards in storage devices.

5. Q 05Which European city's police introduced the first organized police dog programme?

   • ALyon, France
   • BGhent, Belgium
   • CVienna, Austria
   • DHamburg, Germany
   Show answer

   Ghent, Belgium

   The brine

   Paris police had used dogs against night-time gangs, but Ghent, Belgium set up the first organized police dog programme, a model that then spread to Austria-Hungary and Germany.

6. Q 06Which insect's life cycle is most used in forensic entomology to estimate time of death?

   • ABeetles
   • BBlowflies
   • CAnts
   • DMosquitoes
   Show answer

   Blowflies

   The brine

   Blowflies are usually the first insects on a body; the oldest recorded case, from 1235 in China, caught a killer when flies swarmed only the sickle with invisible traces of blood.

7. Q 07Belgian nonprofit APOPO trains what animals to detect landmines and sniff out tuberculosis?

   • AHoneybees
   • BPigs
   • CAfrican giant pouched rats
   • DElephants
   Show answer

   African giant pouched rats

   The brine

   APOPO's African giant pouched rats are too light to set off a mine; one of them, Magawa, won the PDSA Gold Medal in 2020 for clearing ordnance in Cambodia.

8. Q 08What canine evidence cast doubt on Dr. Sam Sheppard's intruder story in his murder case?

   • ADog bite marks matched the suspect
   • BThe dog's fur was found in the victim's hand
   • CThe dog did not bark during the alleged break-in
   • DThe dog led police to a hidden weapon
   Show answer

   The dog did not bark during the alleged break-in

   The brine

   The dog did not bark during the alleged break-in, which prosecutors took as a sign no stranger had entered; Sheppard's conviction was overturned in 1966.

9. Q 09Which kind of pet, named Snowball, shed the hairs that made a Canadian murder trial the first to use non-human DNA?

   • AA dog
   • BA cat
   • CA rabbit
   • DA guinea pig
   Show answer

   A cat

   The brine

   A cat: Snowball's DNA matched white hairs on a bloodstained jacket, and Douglas Beamish was convicted of murdering Shirley Duguay.

10. Q 10Which police force investigated the Prince Edward Island murder that a cat's DNA helped solve?

    • AOntario Provincial Police
    • BRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
    • CSûreté du Québec
    • DToronto Police Service
    Show answer

    Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The brine

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had the hairs tested by a US genetics lab; Douglas Beamish was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life.