Canine cops sniff out drugs and chase the bad guys

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

The Napa County Sheriff’s Department brought two new deputies aboard recently.

They are underpaid, receive no benefits, are not allowed to be armed — and they are treated like dogs.

But they aren’t complaining, and the department feels no qualms.

Whiskey and Ronny are Belgium Malinois police dogs. They joined the force a couple of months ago and have already taken a bite out of crime, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Doug Pace, who is in charge of the department’s K-9 program.

Whiskey, who will be 2 in December, was paid for by the city of American Canyon, where he has teamed up with American Canyon Police Officer Cullen Dodd.

Ronny’s human partner is sheriff’s deputy John Lianovich. The dynamic duo work the valley floor. Ronny, who is only just a little over 1 year old, is no rookie to fighting crime.

Ronny and Whiskey came to Napa County about four months ago from Holland, where they were trained how to sniff out drugs, protect their handlers and assimilate into the life of making Napa a safer place to live.

The dogs cost $11,000 each, including their training in narcotics and protection.

“I know that sounds like a lot of money, but if you break it down in annual pay over the time the dog is on the force and the service he provides for backup for the deputies, it’s really cheap. In a dangerous situation, the dog always goes in first,” Pace said. “We all become attached to these dogs, especially their handlers. Don’t get me wrong, we all suffer when we lose a K-9. But if it came down to it, I would rather bury my dog than my partner.”

In addition to Whiskey and Ronny, the sheriff’s department has two more K-9s. Gunner, who along with his handler, deputy Mike Bartlett works the Lake Berryessa area, and Amo who, is partnered with deputy James Baumgartner. The pair are assigned to the valley floor.

The dogs are trained to respond to commands only from their handlers.

“Most of the handlers use a mixture of languages from English to German for their commands,” Pace said. “It is sort of a special language shared between the dog and his handler.”

The dogs are trained to sniff out marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Once they zero in on one of those scents, they alert the deputies and stay put until released by their handlers.

The dogs have paid off big time, Pace said.

“If we have to search a building looking for the bad guy, we send the dog in first,” said Pace. “We give an announcement that we are sending in the dog and if it finds the person, the dog will bite him. You can’t believe the people who give up and come out of the building with their hands up. They don’t want to get bit. And bad guys thinking to run from officers give it another thought if a dog is present.”

The K-9s are trained to find the “bad guy” and chomp down on the part of the body he or she can get to first.

“They don’t go for any particular part of the body. They just bite on the first thing they come into contact with,” Pace said. “They hold the suspect until their handler and backup arrives. Then the person is handcuffed and taken to jail. Once again, the dogs perform duties that if we had to send an deputy to do, we could potentially be looking at a real danger to the deputy.”

Pace said the dogs are used on a daily basis.

“There hardly ever is a night that goes by that one of the dogs are not called in to do a drug search. We can take the dogs into the rugged terrain where we suspect there could be pot gardens, and the dogs will find them,” he said. “And if we have suspects who run away, we can send the dogs to chase them. Once again, this means we don’t have to send a deputy.”

The K-9s are very protective of their handlers.

All patrol cars carrying the K-9s are marked that a police dog is aboard.

Each K-9 deputy wears a belt that is equipped with a remote control button that, when pushed, will automatically open the patrol car door releasing the dog.

“So, say a deputy makes a routine car stop and runs into trouble. He pushes the remote control button, the dog lurches out of the car and comes to the protection of his handler,” Pace said.

It’s not all work for the dogs.

They also provide a social service for the department by attending community events and making appearances at schools.

Whiskey is a familiar and well-loved face around American Canyon.

“He is very sociable. I have had him to Friday Nights at the Plaza, at schools and many other community events,” Officer Dodd said. “He just loves the attention.”

For Whiskey, work is play, Dodd said. “All he knows is when he goes to work, he’s looking for his reward — his toy, which is a rubber ball or chew toy made of jute. He is willing to do anything for it,” Dodd said.

Whiskey, like all the other K-9s, live with their handlers.

“He is always excited to go to work. When I put my (work) boots on at home, he knows what is next. I put him in the patrol car and we’re going to work. He’s going to get a chance to get his toy,” Dodd said.

The life expectancy of a dog on the police force is five to eight years.

“It depends on their size and health,” Pace said. “Amo, who is a big dog, will be retiring next month after seven years on the street. He still can do the job, but he’s slowing down.”

Amo will be replaced by another dog from Amsterdam before the end of the year.

“Amo will not be happy about retiring. He is still jacked up about going to work, but he’s getting slow,” handler deputy James Baumgartner said.

“I’m really going to miss him. He was a great dog to learn with about being a K-9 deputy. He has such an even, mellow temperament,” he said. “Amo is great around people. But I am looking forward to getting a new dog. A lot of deputies quit the K-9 after their first dog retires, but I really like doing this.”

Although Whiskey, Ronny, Gunner and Amo don’t pack a piece, they do sport their police badges proudly on their collars.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009