Two-and-a-half-year-old labrador Tilly is more than just a "good girl".

She's a firearms and explosives detector dog based out of Devonport, one of only two in the state.

Dog handler Constable Tom Bester said Tilly's days looked different, but one of her priorities was servicing the gateways, like the Spirit of Tasmania , where she routinely screens vehicles coming into the state.

"If we're not doing that, we'll be servicing requests from different areas like the drug squad and the criminal investigation branch," he said.

Constable Bester, with whom Tilly lives, said she could detect about 10 different scents relating to firearms and explosives.

With a rigorous training routine, which is refreshed daily, Tilly will retire when she is about eight years old.

She is not the only one w

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