One usually refers to the Dog Daze of August, but this week, one could call it the Dog days of March.

Wednesday morning, March 12, 2008, Cookeville was invaded by an army of law enforcement officials from across the state.

They were all accompanied by their K-9 companions.

Coordinator of the event, Captain Pat Sealy of the Cookeville Police Department explained that Wednesday is the preparation day while Thursday was the actual certification day.

The dogs are either certifying as drug dogs or bomb dogs both in an enclosed environment, in this case classes at the cookeville high school, or in cars outside at the police impound lot.

Captain Sealy also mentioned that a nationwide certification event involving several hundred dogs is coming up soon.