Predators who trade in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) don’t hide it in plain sight. They do everything they can to bury it. They save the illicit material on a microSD card the size of a fingernail, tucked inside a couch cushion, a gun safe, a box of staples – or literally buried in cluttered garages, sheds, and in the trunks of cars. For years, that’s exactly what worked; odds were, critical evidence in child exploitation cases could be kept out of investigators’ hands.
Then came the dogs: highly trained specialists that changed those odds forever.
Our Rescue’s Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 program places specially trained dogs with local law enforcement across the U.S., Canada, and around the world. Mostly Labrador Retrievers and a few Golden Retrievers, they are trained to detect TPPO, a chemical used to manufacture electronic storage devices. Given the micro-size of many of these devices and clever attempts to conceal them, it’s no surprise that a human search may not find them. The ESD K9 can clear it in minutes and find what others missed.
This game-changing, four-footed resource is BIG in Texas. Here are four of the ESD K9s that our supporters have helped put to work and the Texas-sized results they are delivering on behalf of the communities – and children – they serve and protect.
Nibble — Texas City Police Department
When the Texas City Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received tips pointing to 19-year-old Anthony Noteboom, investigators moved fast, securing a search warrant for his home. It was ESD K9 Nibble who located the device that became the center of the case, evidence that led directly to possession and distribution charges and a $200,000 bond. Multiple partner agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Pearland Police Department, and La Porte Police Department, assisted in the arrest, but it was Nibble’s nose that turned a tip into a case.
Nessa — Rockwall Police Department
Nessa made history as Rockwall PD’s very first ESD K9, a two-year-old black English Labrador retriever who works alongside Detective Phillip Young. She’s built for two jobs at once: sniffing out hidden thumb drives, phones, and hard drives during search warrants, and then switching roles entirely to serve as a therapy dog, offering comfort to child victims during forensic interviews as well as to the investigators who work on these difficult cases every day. On two warrants alone, Nessa located both of the devices investigators were searching for. They had been carefully concealed inside couches at each location. Evidence that was not hiding in plain sight, found anyway.
Umber — Collin County Sheriff’s Office
Umber’s work with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office Child Exploitation Unit led investigators straight to the evidence during a CyberTip-driven search warrant in Blue Ridge. The devices Umber located turned out to hold thousands of images and videos of CSAM, evidence that helped bring charges against a registered sex offender, including possession of material depicting more than 50 images of a child engaged in sexual conduct.
Copper — Fort Worth Police Department
The newest name on this list, Copper, joined Fort Worth PD’s ICAC unit in November 2025, badge pinned on by Chief Eddie Garcia himself. Copper’s placement was made possible by donor Mark McGlothlin, who calls the mission simple: “It saves children.” Under handler Detective Alex Hoeppner, Copper now works search warrants across North Texas, finding the devices, cameras, and hidden storage that could otherwise slip through the cracks. Like his counterpart K9s in the program, Copper also helps calm and comfort tense scenes when children are present.
Putting it in Perspective: One Operation, 300 Arrests, 90 Rescued Children
These four ESD K9s are part of a unique and growing cadre in a much larger fight. In Texas alone, there are currently nine ESD K9s statewide working together to cover as much ground as possible. In just two months this spring, Operation Soteria Shield and Operation Wolf Pack coordinated efforts spanning more than 90 Texas law enforcement agencies alongside the FBI and led to nearly 300 arrests and the rescue of 90 children. ESD K9s like Nibble, Nessa, Umber, and Copper, Remi, Able, Dutch, Rella and Andry are the quiet force multipliers behind numbers like that: dogs who can find in minutes what might otherwise take investigators hours, or go undiscovered entirely.
Every one of these placements starts the same way: with a donor who is willing to fund training, gear, and long-term care for a dog who will spend years finding what predators try hardest to hide.
Our Rescue’s ESD K9 program is expanding across Texas and beyond. Learn more on our ESD K9 Program Page.
