The 6-month-old black Labrador retriever living in a local shelter was scheduled to die within hours. An Ohio family had to give up their 10-month-old yellow Labrador retriever because neighbors complained that he barked too much.

Both were rescued by people who know that the exuberance, high energy and "drive" that made the dogs difficult to handle for the average family are the same qualities prized by people who train dogs for police work.

When Pittsburgh Public Schools students return to their classrooms Aug. 31, Quincy and Mac will be reporting, too, to work as "detection dogs." Quincy, the black Lab, will be doing narcotics searches. Mac, the yellow dog, is trained to detect guns.

Both dogs were trained, all summer long, at the Pittsburgh Police Training Academy by Officer Rudy Harkins, K9 instructor for the city police. Officer Harkins, certified by the North American Police Work Dog Association as a certified master trainer, also trained two city school police officers to handle the dogs. The city donated the dogs and the training to the public schools.

"I couldn't be happier" about the dogs and the training, said Robert Fadzen, Pittsburgh Public Schools safety chief. "These dogs are going to send a message that the school district will not tolerate guns and narcotics" on school property.

"We have been getting the dogs used to the school environment" over the summer. Chief Fadzen did not say when and where the dogs will be working, adding, "it's a learning process for us. We have never had dogs before."

Last May the school board voted 5-4 to accept the city's offer to donate the dogs and their training. Acquiring and training a K9 dog can cost $10,000 or more.

Mac and Quincy are scheduled for an Aug. 29 news conference where they will officially be introduced to the public.

When they're off-duty, the Labrador retrievers go home with their handlers, where they live and play like regular pets.

Quincy is teamed with Dena Young, a school police officer since 1990. "I have always loved dogs, so working with a dog every day is a dream come true," she said. Though she's had many dogs in her life "it's been mostly little poodles. This is my first big dog."

Mac's partner and handler is Dante Borghini, a school police officer for 11 years.

"My dad was a Pittsburgh police officer, so I've always been around police officers and dogs," Officer Borghini said.

Officers Young and Borghini both have young children who love the dogs, they said, and the dogs clearly love their children.

"Mac knows to be gentle with little children," Officer Borghini said.

During a recent session at the city police training academy in East Liberty, the two Labs and their officers worked out under the supervision of Officer Harkins and Pittsburgh K9 officer Dan Hartung.

Mac and Quincy detected drugs and guns hidden in the training building and outside on the property surrounding the buildings. The tails of both dogs wagged vigorously as they searched, and they wagged even harder when they were praised.

K9 dogs are not trained or rewarded with food. Their reward for jobs well done was a brief session of tug-of-war with their handlers, or games of "fetch."

They seemingly never tire of these games, which is why Officer Harkins rescued them.

Dogs used in police work need a lot of energy and what trainers call "drive."

"Drive" is short for "prey drive," which is what wild dogs and their wolf ancestors needed to survive. Prey drive has been tinkered with, over many centuries of breeding, and channeled into other activities such as herding or hunting.

Labrador retrievers have been bred to hunt and retrieve birds. Bird dogs, Officer Harkins said, have a high prey drive. Such dogs often make good "detector" dogs.

The city of Pittsburgh currently has 21 K9 dogs. Many of them are trained for multiple tasks, including tracking, attack and detection. Most of them are German shepherds or Belgian Malinois plus one bloodhound, used exclusively for tracking.

The Labrador retrievers used in city schools have not been trained to guard or attack.

Pittsburgh, like most police departments, usually buys purebred dogs from European breeders because they've been bred as working dogs for many generations. Officer Harkins also considers dogs, like Mac, that people are willing to donate. He regularly checks shelters to see if there are any dogs that could be saved, and trained, for police work.

He found Quincy at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.

"I go into shelters for dogs as often as I can, and it is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job," Officer Harkins said.