Special Achievers: Denver Explosive Detection Canine Unit

By Linda Cole

Bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers are one of our most reliable defenses against hidden explosive devices. These highly trained canines and handlers help keep our airports, borders and cities safe. I recently had the honor of talking with Officer Armando Cruz of the Denver Police Department Explosive Detection Canine Unit. Officer Cruz and his dog, Masc, are both skilled in the art of bomb sniffing – well, Masc does the sniffing – and Officer Cruz and Masc are stationed at the Denver International Airport along with seven other canine teams. CANIDAE is proud to sponsor this Explosive Detection Canine Unit through its Special Achievers program.

The DPD K-9 unit has three Labs, four German Shepherds and one Belgian Malinois. Along with their duties at the Denver airport, they also respond to calls in the Denver area and other jurisdictions when asked. The mission of the DPD Explosive Detection Canine Unit is to detect and prevent criminals from being able to use explosive devices by finding them before they can cause damage or injuries. Established in 1972, the dog teams are a proven and reliable balance to the DPD's counter-sabotage program, and they help prevent terrorist attacks.

Denver's K-9 unit is partially funded by the TSA National Explosive Detection Canine Team Program (NEDCTP). All but two of the dogs used in the DPD K-9 unit came from overseas breeders. The TSA has a puppy program located at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and two Labs used in Denver's program came from the TSA's puppy program. One interesting footnote on the TSA puppy program is that each puppy is named after one of the victims from September 11 by using their first, middle or last name.

As with any human/dog relationship, a strong bond is very important. “When the dogs bond with us, they want to work harder for us, they want to complete their assignment, they want to please us. You absolutely have to have that bond to have a good working dog because we're a team. He doesn't do it on his own, nor could I do it on my own,” explained Officer Cruz. In fact, bonding is so essential when working as a team that each handler attends an extensive training mission for ten weeks at Lackland Air Force Base. After graduation from the training school, a handler and dog are then evaluated 30 to 90 days after returning home on an 11 day training mission to make sure they have a strong bond. “If you don't have a bond with a working dog, it doesn't work out,” said Officer Cruz.

Each dog lives with their handler. When a dog reaches retirement age (between 8 to 10 years of age) they are donated to the Denver Police Department and the department will then release the dog to his handler. If the handler resigns before a dog is retired, is promoted or transfers out of the department and the dog is still young enough to continue working, the dog is returned to Lackland Air Force Base and reassigned to a new handler. Officer Cruz added fondly, “My dog Masc is 8 years old and he still acts like a puppy. So I have a feeling this dog is going to work until he's 11 or 12. He's ready to go to work when I start up the truck and put the back tailgate down.”

The best explosive sniffing dog has a strong prey drive. Puppies who go in search of their toy when it's taken away and like to play hide-and-seek are perfect candidates. The dogs are given a scent to learn along with a sit command, and are taken back to a scent until they learn it. The sit command tells the handler the dog has found what he was asked to find. “So all the dog knows is, when I smell this scent and I sit, I get my toy plus I get all the verbal praise in the world and I get all the affection from my handler,” said Officer Cruz.

The dog is just playing a game of hide-and-seek, but his handler knows he’s performing a vital service in protecting the public. “They don't understand how valuable they are to us looking for explosives, but we know how important it is,” said Officer Cruz. When asked how many different scents the dogs are trained to detect, Officer Cruz told me “The dogs are trained on various odors that are associated with explosives.” But for security purposes, he couldn't tell me the exact number.

Some K-9 Units teach their dogs commands in German or Dutch to keep a suspect from being able to understand what command an officer just gave to his dog. The DPD Bomb Dog Unit doesn't deal with suspects, so their dogs are all trained in English.

According to Officer Cruz, the dogs have been eating CANIDAE for around 10 years. “They've been doing great on the CANIDAE Grain Free pureELEMENTS. It helps keep their digestive system working like it's supposed to. The protein in the food keeps their energy drive up, keeps them working well and as working dogs, it's so important for the dogs to have healthy bowel movements. The CANIDAE food keeps their coats shiny and healthy and they look good,” he said.

Officer Cruz wanted to pass along the department’s thanks to CANIDAE for the work they do in sponsoring these amazing dogs. I would also like to thank the handlers and dogs of the Denver Police Department Explosive Detection Canine Unit for the important work they do. Searching for explosives may seem like a game to the dogs, but we know how vital these K9 teams are in helping to keep us safe. The dogs may not understand, but we do.

Read more articles by Linda Cole

CANIDAE Helps Take a Bite Out of Crime

By Julia Williams

The handsome Belgian Malinois pictured here is Baco, a hard-working K9 who helps fight crime in the Southern California city of Pomona. CANIDAE graciously donated Baco to the Pomona Police Department a year ago, to replace a patrol dog who died from cancer. Officer Theo Joseph is Baco’s human partner on the force (also called a handler), and Baco is his third police dog.

I spoke with Officer Joseph recently to get an update on how Baco has been doing this past year. As it turns out, Baco just recently caught his first bad guy. This “K9 rite of passage” is an important test, as it tells the handler much about the dog, what he has learned, and how he’s likely to perform in the future. According to Officer Joseph, Baco handled his first apprehension of a bad guy (two of them, actually) really well, and shows great promise as a police dog.

With his first bite behind him, Baco can now attend a six-week training for narcotic detection. This cross-training is valuable because it will make Baco an even more useful member of the force. If Baco’s sensitive canine nose detects drugs in a vehicle, Officer Joseph has probable cause to search without needing to obtain a warrant.

Although Baco knows many English words, he has been trained to respond only to commands in Dutch. This can be useful to the officer, since it prevents criminals from knowing what commands are being given. In fact, it’s not uncommon for them to mistakenly think that a command to apprehend is the dog’s name. Whereupon, instead of calming the menacing dog in front of them by calling his name, the criminal is actually saying “grab me, grab me.” Don’t tell the bad guy this, but no matter what he says it won’t cause the dog to retreat or attack, because K9s are taught to respond only to their handler.

Dog officers develop extremely close bonds with their K9 partners, largely because they are with them 24/7. Their dogs go to work with them every day and spend evenings and weekends at their home. “I spend more time with Baco than I do with my family,” joked Officer Joseph.

On those rare occasions when he works a shift without Baco, Officer Joseph said it feels strange. It’s not just the companionship of a dog that he misses, however. Baco’s mere presence can prevent physical confrontations with criminals and diffuse potentially deadly situations. Officer Joseph described an incident where a stand-off occurred between a suspect and police. The man was willing to fight eight officers, but when he heard the bark of just one police dog, he surrendered immediately. This is a perfect illustration of how tremendously valuable K9s are to law enforcement.

Baco eats premium-quality CANIDAE dog food, of course, alternating between the All Life Stages and Chicken & Rice formulas. Officer Joseph believes that the CANIDAE food helps Baco be a better police dog because it gives him the high level of energy he needs, doesn’t cause digestion issues, and satisfies his ravenous appetite.

Although Baco takes his police work seriously, Officer Joseph said he’s also a laidback, low-key canine. This is in stark contrast to the officer’s last K9 partner, another Belgian Malinois named Zorro described as a “Type A” personality. Zorro is retired from the force and lives at home with the family along with Baco and a third dog, a Husky. When he’s not fighting crime, Baco enjoys playing tug-of-war and keep-away with his favorite toy, a plastic bone. He likes country music, and snores while sleeping.

Talking with Officer Joseph brought back fond memories of my college days as a Journalism student. I was assigned to the “police beat” and went on many Citizen Ride-Alongs, including two with K9 units. All of my rides were interesting and educational, but the K9s provided the most fodder for A+ tales. Officer Kaiser and his German Shepherd Samson, were quite the pair. I’d been forewarned by other officers that “the dog stinks to high heaven,” and “Kaiser is the only guy on the force with a dog smarter than he is.” I’ll not divulge whether they were right, but my four-hour ride with this duo was definitely unforgettable.

Samson spent the entire time breathing down my neck from the back seat of the patrol car. When a call came over the radio about a fight at a liquor store, Officer Kaiser spun the car around and accelerated (largely to impress me, I’m sure), and Samson went wild, barking and pacing like mad. The “fight” turned out to be a mild scrap between three macho dudes and a hippie with a dead squirrel in the basket of his moped. (I swear I’m not making that up!). While Officer Kaiser spoke to the men, Samson leaned out the window and kept a keen eye on them. Later, we headed to Samson’s favorite “potty spot.” When Officer Kaiser told Samson to “Take a break!” he flew out the car window, did his business and jumped back in.

Although my memorable Citizen Ride-Alongs occurred many years ago, Officer Joseph said most cities still do them today, but that he and Baco have only done two of them in their first year together. I’m quite certain they weren’t nearly as entertaining as my rides with Officer Kaiser and Samson. Nevertheless, Baco is an exemplary K9, and CANIDAE is proud to sponsor him.

Read more articles by Julia Williams

Hard Working Dogs That Protect and Serve

By Julia Williams

The relationship between dogs and humans goes back thousands of years. Long before they became “man’s best friend,” dogs had other important jobs. Canines have been enlisted in the military for ages, serving as sentry and patrol dogs, to detect mines, bombs, booby traps, enemy troops and more. Because a canine’s keen senses of smell and hearing are far superior to human soldiers, many a wartime battle would’ve had a tragically different outcome without dogs.

Working dogs are tremendously useful to law enforcement and homeland security, and ranchers rely on them to help with herding sheep and guarding livestock. Assistance dogs provide life changing support to the disabled, and therapy dogs help the sick and elderly find joy in an otherwise challenging existence. As you can see, the list of “canine careers” is long and varied. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Police Dogs – K9 Units

Police officers rely on their K9 partner to help them chase, subdue and apprehend criminals, to provide support during building searches, patrols and crowd control, and to detect illegal substances like drugs and weapons. There’s no question these dedicated and hard working dogs help keep their partners/handlers safe in a highly dangerous job. Their very presence can also prevent crime and diffuse a volatile situation, because delinquents often rethink their actions when confronted by a formidable canine with sharp teeth and powerful jaws.

Many different breeds are used as police dogs, but the German Shepherd is the most popular. This breed is in the herding class of working dogs, and is valued by law enforcement for their size, strength, intelligence and work ethic. The second most popular police dog is the Belgian Malinois (pronounced mal-in-waw), often referred to as a smaller, sleeker version of a German Shepherd. Belgian Malinois are hard working dogs with a high level of endurance, noted for their speed, intelligence and agility.

Last year, CANIDAE donated a Belgian Malinois named Baco to the Pomona, California Police Department's Canine Unit. According to his partner/handler, Officer Theo Joseph, Baco is progressing well in his training and has proven to be a fine police dog. You can read more about Baco and other hard working CANIDAE sponsored dogs on the “Special Achievers” section of their website.

Bomb Dogs and Drug Dogs

Detection dogs are a vital part of our country’s security forces. AKC Spokesperson Lisa Peterson said, “Despite advances in security technology, the canine and its unique abilities remain a valued resource for the military and law enforcement agencies that work to keep us safe."

Bomb dogs can quickly locate explosives in a large area that might take humans hours to search. These explosive-sniffing dogs are trained to detect up to 30 different odors that might comprise a bomb, which translates into as many as 19,000 combinations. Detection dogs can also provide peace of mind by quickly confirming that large venues (convention centers, stadiums, concert halls, government buildings, etc.) are free of explosives. Detection dogs are also trained to sniff out illegal drugs, weapons, agricultural products and fire-starting accelerants, either carried on a person or in luggage, packages, vehicles and buildings. Detection dogs must learn to perform reliably in any environment, despite distractions such as loud noises, crowds, and gunfire.

A trained detection dog’s sense of smell is not only highly sensitive, but very exact. In lab tests, bomb sniffing dogs were able to detect odor concentrations as minute as one part per billion. Much to the dismay of smugglers, detection dogs are also remarkably adept at picking out contraband even when it’s placed inside smelly things or in creatively sealed packages.

Some of the dog breeds used for detection work include Beagle, Bloodhound, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Rottweiler, Bouvier, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever and Giant Schnauzer.

Military Working Dogs (MWDs)

The U.S. military has employed working dogs since the Revolutionary War, where they were used as pack animals. During World War I, MWDs were used to kill rats in the trenches. For World War II, our military deployed more than 10,000 specially trained canine troops as sentries, scouts, messengers and mine detectors. Today’s military working dogs perform many jobs, among them locating and tracking enemy troops, detecting mines, bombs and booby traps, and defending military bases and field locations. The majority are German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, and Belgian Malinois, breeds valued for their aggressive, intelligent, loyal and athletic traits.

After their training (canine bootcamp?), all military working dogs are paired with a single individual, called a handler. The handler usually does not remain with one dog for the length of either's military service, but generally partners with them for at least a year, and sometimes longer.

Other hard working dogs that “protect and serve” include Search & Rescue Dogs, Cadaver Dogs, Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs. There are far too many to discuss in one sitting. However, I do think these dedicated working dogs provide an invaluable service and deserve recognition, so I will talk more about these canine careers in my next post.

Read more articles by Julia Williams

Blog Sponsor Helps Police Canine Units and Avalanche Rescue Dog

CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA POLICE CANINE UNITS

CANIDAE Helps to Take a Bite Out of Crime

Robert Bemis, Regional Sales Manager for CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods, was approached by the Pomona Police Department recently regarding the department's Canine Unit. Earlier this year, the unit lost a Belgian Malinois patrol dog named Buddy to his battle with canine cancer. The department needed to replace Buddy with a new 

dog, but budget constraints and a lack of donations made it difficult.

CANIDAE has a long history of supporting both local and pet related causes including an ongoing series of fund raisers for the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. "We were very saddened to hear of Buddy's death from canine cancer. We're very involved with raising funds to treat and prevent cancer in dogs so we are very sensitive to that issue. We wanted to help," Bemis said.

"This not the first time we have worked with law enforcement," Bemis continued. "I'm working to finalize a narcotics dog sponsorship for the Sumerton Arizona Police right now, and CANIDAE has been supporting law enforcement agencies across the country by providing food for their canine units for years."

CANIDAE officially donated the Belgian Malinois, named Baco, to the Pomona Police Department's Canine Unit this past March. The newest member of the Police Department's canine unit, he is in his fourth week of training and getting ready to begin patrol duties with his handler. The 3 1/2 year old Belgian Malinois has shown he's energetic, alert, brave and sociable with his handler, Officer Theo Joseph.

"Buddy's death caught everyone by surprise", said Sgt. Mike Ellis, who oversees the Police Department's canine program. "Because the dog's death came suddenly, no one was able to plan for a replacement," Ellis said.

The donation from CANIDAE came at a critical time for the department, but now the Canine Unit must prepare for the retirement of another dog, Rocky, who will retire in about three months after 11 years of service.

People interested in contributing toward the purchase of Rocky's replacement can attend the Eagles' taco nights, which begin at 6 p.m. Mondays at the Eagles Lodge, 954 W. Mission Blvd., Pomona.

Checks can also be made out to the "Eagles K-9 Fund" and mailed in care of Sgt. Mike Ellis to the Pomona Police Department, 490 W. Mission Blvd., Pomona, CA 91766. Donations will be forwarded to the Eagles.

COPPER MOUNTAIN SKI PATROL

CANIDAE Sponsored Rescue Dog Helps Ski Patrol Team Ensure A Safe Mountain Experience

"Last week I had the opportunity to watch Cascade, a CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods sponsored back country avalanche search dog at work. Cascade is a 3-year old Golden Retriever that is handled by Chris and Hanna Sutton of Copper Mountain Ski Patrol in the beautiful Colorado Rockies," said Chris Milliken, Regional Sales Manager for CANIDAE.

Copper Mountain Ski Patrol in Colorado is one of the larger patrol teams in the county. The staff consists of 60 full-time patrollers, 100 volunteers who work as Slope Watch (the folks who tell you to slow down on groomers and other high-traffic runs), 20 medical volunteer professionals (doctors and nurses who donate their time on the mountain to increase Copper’s medical response force), and 15 high school students who assist in most patrol operations.

The avalanche dogs Cascade, Tucker, Tracker, Eddy, and Bridger round out the team.

Chris Milliken recently had the opportunity to watch Cascade participate in a training exercise. "It was great to see Cascade proudly sporting the CANIDAE Pet Foods patches on his vest. Cascade is a true testament to the results of feeding CANIDAE, from his great looking coat to his ability consistently perform in these high-pressure situations," Milliken said.