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Michael D'Abruzzo consulted with Inside Edition on the manhunt for escaped inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt, including the claim that the fugitives used pepper in an effort to throw off tracking dogs during their three weeks on the run.

According to police, the two men scattered pepper to try to confuse the dogs following their trail. The tactic may sound dramatic, and it has certainly appeared in Hollywood, including the classic prison film Cool Hand Luke, where bloodhounds are misled during a chase scene.

But Michael D'Abruzzo, an expert K9 trainer who worked with Inside Edition on the story, explained that the idea is far more fiction than fact. He stated that pepper would make no real difference to a properly trained tracking dog.

To test the claim, D'Abruzzo and Inside Edition producer Lara Yunaska took part in a demonstration in which their shoes were covered in pepper before they ran into the woods, leaving an additional trail of pepper behind them. Despite that, a trained tracking dog located them within minutes without difficulty.

The demonstration reinforced D'Abruzzo's point that trained scent dogs are not so easily fooled by a simple irritant like pepper, despite how often that idea has been repeated in movies and popular culture.

The broader case came to an end after Richard Matt was shot and killed when he refused to surrender, and David Sweat was captured days later after being wounded while trying to flee. Authorities said Sweat had been wearing stolen camouflage clothing to help conceal himself in the woods. When he was apprehended, troopers reportedly found maps, bug repellent, and Pop Tarts in his possession.

D'Abruzzo's consultation helped Inside Edition separate cinematic myth from real world canine tracking ability, showing viewers that the pepper tactic may make for a memorable movie scene, but it does not hold up against a skilled tracking dog.