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April 24 dinner held at the Community Center was capped with a fast-paced parking lot demonstration of the highly trained dogs and what they do - and don’t do - upon command. (Photo by Craig Mailloux) |
SPPD: K9 demonstrations show dogs are serious about play
May 03, 2013
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
They certainly seemed threatening, but Santa Paula Police K9 officers explained to the crowd at the 4th Annual K9 Spaghetti Dinner that the dogs see everything as a plaything, even when it looks - and feels - serious to criminals being apprehended.
The April 24 dinner held at the Community Center was capped with a fast-paced parking lot demonstration of the highly trained dogs and what they do - and don’t do - upon command. SPPD Sr. Officer Larry Johnson, accompanied by his K9 partner Zak, said the demonstrations would show both “what the K9s do to protect us” and in turn protect the suspect from further harm by defusing faux confrontations that started with an argument, then escalated into aggression.
Johnson said Santa Paula Police K9s are trained to react to verbal commands, and are “praised when they do the right thing... and corrected when they do something wrong.”
After the dogs took turns bringing a resistant but well-padded “perp” under control, Senior Officer Randy Haumann, whose K9 partner is Hozy, noted, “To them, this is fun.... Everything to them is toy driven and one thing they work for is a toy.”
With K9 partner Chevy at his side, Senior Officer Scott Varner said the canine is the only tool in the police arsenal that can “be brought back... it’s not like a Taser.”
“Everything the dogs do is for praise and play,” said Johnson. “They like playing ball,” and chasing and restraining suspects is “like playing ball, but on a larger scale.”
K9s used to be duty worthy for only up to about 3 years old, but now their service life can range up to 6 years. Glendale Police, which often trains with SPPD K9s, has an active duty dog that is 9 years old. The dogs are well taken care of, with treatment that can include chiropractic, acupuncture and spine therapy.
Even with the approximately $10,000 cost of the dog and basic and specialty training that costs $4,000 to $5,000 per category, the dog is still a bargain. It might take officers three to four hours to search a building for a suspect, but it will take the K9 only 15 minutes.
And, “The mere presence of the dog will make people give up,” said Johnson, which dramatically slashes confrontations as well as injuries to the officer, dog and suspects themselves. “In my career there has probably been 20 to 30 times a suspect” gave up without resistance, compared to the small percentage of “two or so that fight” even when faced with the K9.
The K9 lives with its handler, and once the dog is retired Haumann said the officer has the option to purchase the animal for $1. “You have a bond” with the K9 from working and living together, and, noted Haumann, “It’s hard to break that bond.”
Interim Police Chief Ishmael Cordero said the SPPD “really appreciates the turnout and the generous contributions for our K9 program.... Debbie and Don Johnson and the Santa Paula Police and Fire Foundation do a lot of work to make sure our dogs get the training they need to better serve the community.”
Although the three SPPD K9s have been trained in various specialties, Cordero said, “Our guys have not been trained in explosives detection... and that is one of my goals, to get the dogs that training.”
