COBB COUNTY, GA — As students return to classrooms across Cobb County for their first day of school, they’ll be joined by some new four-legged members of the school safety team. The district is officially rolling out its “Vapor Wake” dog program, a security initiative featuring eight specially trained dogs that can detect concealed explosives and firearms using their sense of smell.

The dogs were first introduced in a pilot program last school year, and their success led to a full deployment this fall. “These are just the coolest additions to our safety team,” said John Floresta, Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer at Cobb County Schools. “Dogs that are with 100% certainty able to detect weapons on campus, they’re using their trained sense of smell.”

Floresta says the dogs are already a hit with students. “In some cases, the kids have even renamed the dogs and made them the official mascot of our elementary and middle schools in particular,” he said. “You’ve got kids from kindergarten all the way to high schoolers who are able to interact with the dogs on campus.”

The eight Vapor Wake dogs will rotate through different schools across the district throughout the school year. Floresta notes the dogs are similar to those used at airports, major sporting events, and college campuses, adding, “Imagine dogs that are friendly, you can reach out and treat them like one you’d have at home, but these dogs are detecting weapons on campus.”

Officials say the dogs add another layer of protection for schools.

WSB’s Austin Eller contributed to this story