A Tale of Two Officers: Surprising Facts and Stories about K-9's

 BY KITTY L. | SHIROOKAMI - DOGS.UNITE | 6.30.2021

It started as an ordinary day at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA.  At the gate, a K-9 handler and his K-9 partner conduct a routine inspection on a massive 18-wheeler before allowing it to enter academy grounds.  With tail swaying from side to side, the agile K-9 goes around the back of the truck, intently sniffing everything in her reach.  Her ears perk up, and her brown eyes are suddenly alert.  She jumps, then sits, indicating she has picked up a hint of explosives within the vehicle and its load.  Incoming and outgoing traffic from the Academy is immediately halted as other K-9s join the inspection, resulting in a line of sitting dogs, bravely staring down the tractor trailer as the driver’s cell phone is relinquished from his person.  Effectively shutting down the Academy, the K-9s have alerted their handlers about a threat only the dogs themselves could discern.

SOME NUMBERS

Stories like this happen every day around the world.  Exact numbers have yet to be determined, an estimated 50,000 canines provide their unique strengths to 7,000 K-9 teams across the US [Von Dobeneck 2010, Ingraham 2015, City of Taylor 2021].  They fill various roles, including suspect apprehension, narcotics or explosives detection, tracking, and search and rescue.   Although K-9s have been documented to be first used in 1888 to hunt down Jack the Ripper [Custom Canine Unlimited 2018], Buffalo PD in New York reported its first fallen K-9, Vag, just 11 years prior [ODMP, 2021].  Since then, 470 K-9s have been reported among their fellow fallen officers, under-reported numbers that show just how dangerous their jobs can be [ODMP, 2021].  This past year alone, more than 41 K-9s have been reported lost to gunfire, assault, or duty related illnesses.

K-9 Nikki of the FBI Academy.  |  Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI

 In this story, two K-9 handlers share their experiences, general knowledge, and thrilling stories about their four-legged partners.  Officer Joe Rice, who was selected to be on the Edmond Police Department’s* K-9 Unit in 2004, fights crime and apprehends suspects with his third and final K-9 partner, Robbie.  Officer Wasczack, who became a K-9 handler at the FBI Academy† two years ago, detects explosives with his first K-9 partner, Nikki, who picked up the scent in the tractor trailer.

 * Edmond Police Department, Edmond, OK

† FBI Academy, Quantico, VA

 THE BENEFITS OF K-9 PRESENCE

The K-9 activity which is most familiar to the public involves dogs biting and holding non-compliant suspects during training or in real criminal cases.  In reality, K-9s use their powerful sense of smell to track people or items of interest more than anything else.  Officer Rice explains:

 “A canine unit is used 99% of the time as a locating tool.  […]  My current dog (K-9 Robbie) and I were called to assist a small rural police department where two residential burglary suspects fled from a home into a wooded area.  I deployed K-9 Robbie.  He and I, along with the department’s Police Chief, began tracking these two suspects.  K-9 Robbie took us through a heavily wooded area, where we had to crawl through the trees on our knees.  Once through the trees, K-9 Robbie led us directly to the two suspects who were hiding in a large cedar tree.”

 K-9 Robbie of EPD posing in front of a patrol vehicle in Edmond, OK. | Courtesy Officer Joe Rice

In addition to tracking, K-9s prevent or minimize the occurrence of deadly situations for both officers and suspects.  More often, their mere presence is often used as a crucial psychological deterrence during encounters with suspects [Kovacich 1982]. 

 “I have faced numerous situations where a suspect or suspects thought they could overcome me with force,” explained Officer Rice.  “Fortunately, in each of these situations, I had a police K-9 in the back of my vehicle who would bark aggressively.  This aggressive bark always deterred anyone from fighting.  Without a K-9 present, I am sure the outcome would have been very different.”

 Inevitably, there will be times that officers require assistance from their K-9 partners during an arrest.  In one study of six jurisdictions, officers deployed their K-9s seven percent of the time, which was slightly less than the times their weapons were discharged [Garner 2002].  Apprehension through biting and holding is used as a last resort, typically when suspects flee or display aggression.  Suspect behavior influences whether or not the K-9s will react – for example, threatening or assaulting the K-9 increases the risk of biting [Cambell 1998].  Although K-9s have been commonly portrayed in media as aggressive and vicious, changes in policy over the years, particularly in the 1990s, have decreased the rates of sustained bites and fractures for those entering jail [Hutson 1997].  Such bites are considered by many to be better alternatives to use of guns.  In fact, the use of canines is legally defined as a less-lethal use of force [Mesloh 2008].

 

“There is also the safety side to having a canine unit,” said Officer Rice.  “In some situations, it is safer for a canine unit to apprehend a suspect than it would be for the officer to go “hands on” with the suspect. My canine is trained to “bite and hold” a suspect, until the suspect is in custody. Without a canine unit, the fear factor of a big aggressively barking dog would be gone. In my experience, the presence of a canine alone deters most criminals from fighting the police. The job of policing would be more difficult without a properly trained canine unit.”

 K-9: NOT YOUR ORDINARY CANINE

What sets these K-9s apart from non-working dogs is their specialized and costly training, as well as their unique bloodlines and abilities.  On top of always being considered specialty units, which are typically not accounted for in a police department’s budget, K-9 teams must be created and sustained through generous public or corporate donations [National Police Dog Foundation; Mares 2016], making such units a valuable gift to the public.  Training can cost anywhere from $12,000 – $15,000 [National Police Dog Foundation] to 60 grand [US Air Force, Tiron 2020] per canine, in addition to initial breeding costs.

 “I feel the overall ability of a police canine distinguishes it from normal house dog. Police canines must be courageous, easy to train, willing to learn, and willing to work,” explained Sgt. Rice.  “Most police canines are bred for these certain traits, which make then a better police canine.  This is one of the reasons most police canines come from overseas and are imported into the United States.  They could make house dogs, but they are wired differently.  It is in their DNA.  Once a police canine is put on a task it does not want to stop until the task is complete.  It’s the love of the hunt that keeps my dog going long after I am exhausted.”

K9s in Nitra, Slovakia |  Courtesy Jozef Fehér

In response to the September 11 attacks in 2001, the US military and police increasingly imported high-quality dogs from overseas breeders.  These imported dogs are carefully bred and trained, prior to additional training, in famous kennels like the ZPS (z Pohranicni stráze) in Czechoslovakia, whose dogs would easily make 30 apprehensions daily to protect borders during the Cold War [Tiron 2020, State Border Protection Act 1951, Teufel Hunden 2021, Mares 2016].  These features by themselves set canines apart from other working dogs and dogs as house pets in general, and their value only increases as they continue their training and gain experience. 

 BEYOND THE TRAINING

Even when the canines are specifically bred for certain tasks, they may still be trained in roles where they can shine even better.  Nikki, for instance, initially had bitework training, but was phased into a new, more specialized role.

 “I have a dog at home, a Rhodesian ridgeback, one hundred pounds,” Officer Waszack said.  “When they play fight, [Nikki] takes him down, even though she’s only 54 pounds.  She can take him down like he’s nothing.  So, she has some bitework, but she is so small, they were like, I dunno’ if that’s going to work.  She can be a vicious one, but for explosives, she had no training, so we had to start her off slowly.”

K-9 Nikki of the FBI Academy posing in front of a patrol vehicle in Quantico, VA. | Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI

Officer Waszack went on to recount Nikki’s first encounter with a bomb scent as she received additional training.  “We used bomb scents, explosives in the box, had her sniff it, and she just kinda’ looks at it, like, what?  We tell her to sit, using all different kinds of explosives.  Each time she smelled an explosive, we had to give her the command to sit, then we would do another box that’s empty.  She would sniff it, and go back to the box with explosives in it, and sit again.  It amazes me how smart they actually are because they know the difference.  We used to train with a scent ball, and then [….] leave a brick so that we knew which one was the explosive.  The dogs pick up on that and would go right to where the brick is just to get the ball.  So, training had to be set up a certain way to avoid this, and them following the scent as you set up the explosives scent.  Since then, [Nikki’s] shut down the Academy three times already, finding stuff.” 

In Nikki’s case, the key to retraining was her own motivation.  Officer Wasczack explained:

“Even though she has her frisbee, a tug toy, she only gets her ball as her reward toy.  She doesn’t get that toy unless she finds an explosive.  Even though she has a frisbee as a tug toy, she never gets the ball on playtime – that’s an explosives ball.  If I throw all three toys at her, she would go right for the reward toy, so that means she really wants that toy, and you need to keep that ambition, you need to keep that motivation, to get that toy.  If she had [it] all the time, she’d be like, why should I even bother?”

 IRRELACEABLE BONDS

Another secret to a K-9s success is their unique bond to their handlers.  One study [Hart 2000] showed that many officers would frequently spend quality time (playing, talking, brushing) with their K-9s, on an average of 4.1 hours on duty and 2.9 hours off duty per week for additional training, and 6.5 hours per week exercising with their companions.  Officer Rice shared:

 

“A solid bond between a police canine and its handler is crucial for a successful K-9 team.  The bond begins to form on day one.  However, this can be a slow process taking several years for the bond between canine and handler to be complete.  This tight bond allows the canine to trust the handler; thus, making certain deployments possible.  The bond between my second canine, K-9 Alex, is much stronger than my current bond with K-9 Robbie. K-9 Alex has been “retired” for over five years, but he still follows me everywhere.  K-9 Alex walks with me while I mow my yard while K-9 Robbie simply lays in the garage.”

Relaxing K-9. | Courtesy Jozef Fehér

 Indeed, the bond between K-9 and handler is not only deep, but a predictor of well-being and job performance.  One study showed the accuracy and overall performance of detection dogs sky-rocketed when K-9s worked their handlers versus unfamiliar handlers, and that they were more focused on the task at hand [Jamieson 2018].  This could result from a K-9’s to please their handler, an ambition found in most dogs.

 “Nikki is definitely attached to me,” explained Officer Waszack.  “Ask anybody here.  My daughter once told me, I wish I can get a man to look at me the way Nikki looks at you, because she’s all love.  She loves me, and we’re together all the time, you know.  We’ve definitely got that bond.”

 While K-9s benefit from their handlers, handlers also benefit from K-9s, and the positive psychological effects can extend to entire departments.  The Hart study showed that virtually all officers believed dogs enhanced their departments’ effectiveness and contributed greatly to job satisfaction.

 FUN TIMES AND GREATEST MOMENTS

We’ve come to learn that K-9s are some extremely professional dogs.  At their core, however, K-9s are just as lovable, goofy, and beloved like any other dog.

 Officer Rice shared amazing moments in Robbie’s professional career.

 “I have several very proud moments in my career with K- 9 Robbie.  The first is on the training side, in 2018, where K-9 Robbie and I took top honors, at the United States Police Canine Association Region 11 Patrol Dog 1, yearly certifications.  The award included obedience, agility, evidence recovery, sent boxes, and criminal apprehension.  It was K-9 Robbie’s first time to compete, and he was awesome.  Another proud moment is when K-9 Robbie located two burglary suspects for an outside agency, which we were assisting.  This outside agency did not have a canine unit and knew without the help of a canine the suspects would not be caught.  It took K-9 Robbie only a few minutes to pick up the scent and lead us to the two suspects, who were hiding in a heavily wooded area.  The Chief of this agency was with us.  He was amazed at how fast and efficient K-9 Robbie worked.  Once the suspects were in custody, K-9 Robbie and I made our way back to our vehicle passing several other officers.  The excitement and astonishment on these officers’ faces made me very proud of K-9 Robbie.

 

There were also times where K-9 Robbie’s silly side appeared on the job:

 “Dogs will be dogs no matter how well they are trained,” explained Officer Rice.  K-9 Robbie and I responded to a possible residential burglary call.  Upon arrival, we spoke with the homeowner in front of the residence.  He stated he thought someone might be in his house because he did not remember leaving the lights on inside when he left.  So, K-9 Robbie and I, along with cover units, entered the residence.  I gave my canine warning and announcement for anyone inside to surrender.  Once the announcement was made K-9 Robbie knew his job was to find someone hiding in the house.  K-9 Robbie became very excited and began searching the residence.  When K-9 Robbie “hunts” for people he becomes very focused and all business.  We reached an area in the home with a hallway and several closed doors.  K-9 Robbie was sniffing the door searching for the odor of a person possibly hiding behind the door.  Then unexpectedly as K-9 Robbie was still extremely focused on searching, he began pooping on the floor as he was searching the hallway.  My cover officers thought this was hilarious. We continued searching the residence, but we did not locate anyone inside.  I cleaned up K-9 Robbie’s mess and informed the homeowner of what had happened.  The homeowner did not mind, and he was very appreciative for K-9 Robbie.”

 As for K-9 Nikki, it was she and Officer Wasczack who inspected the 18-wheeler at the Academy.  “They had to unload the entire truck and search all the packages and everything on the truck,” Officer Wasczack recalled.  “After inspecting, we threw it back into the truck, and let her search – she sat again, and then we were like, we don’t know why this dog is sitting!  So, one of the bomb techs asked the driver for the week’s worth of what he was transporting, and it turned out he had pure hydrogen peroxide.  It was being transported for cleaning kidney dialysis machines, pure hydrogen peroxide.  Apparently, they’re making bombs with that now, so the smell just stayed on the truck, and Nikki caught it a week later.  It just amazes me how a week later, the smell, that faint scent, was still on the truck, and Nikki picked up on it.”

K-9 Nikki catching a bit of exercise on Academy grounds. | Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI

“The greatest moment I had with Nikki,” Officer Wasczack shared,” was when she sat on that truck, and it was gone for a week.  But afterward, she and I are walkin’ around the Academy, and sometimes people see her.  She loves attention, so we kinda’ make people’s day.  They’ll ask, can I pet the dog – you always gotta’ ask to approach first - and I say yeah!  You can pet the dog.  And they say, thank you, you made my day.  So, when someone’s having a bad day, that takes them to a better place.  I enjoy it, and so does everybody else.”

A FINAL NOTE

Although the duties of both handlers and their K-9s remain the same, law enforcement personnel – both  human and canine – face new, more difficult challenges from all sides. 

 “Policing has changed over my career,” noted Officer Rice.  “It seems criminals are more brash and the punishment much less. I also feel the media is causing confusion, between fact and fiction.  Thus, resulting in citizens acting in ways they normally would not if they knew all the facts.  There is a lack of respect for society.  This lack of respect filters down to every aspect of life, not just policing.  We see it in the children we encounter on calls and in the schools.  Lack of respect for the teachers, other students, and the police.  Until respect for others is restored and the media begins to talk about those issues, policing will remain very difficult.” 

 Now, more than ever, it is important to be aware of the dangers K-9s and their handlers face, as well as others in law enforcement, and to remember the sacrifice many have made along the way.  As part of our continuing efforts to explore how dogs impact our lives in a multitude of ways, we hope that this perspective allows for a deeper appreciation of the canine impact, as well as an appreciation for the men and women who strive to protect and serve.

Child admiring K-9 Fritz of the Pittston City PD during a public K-9 fundraising event in Pittston, PA.  |  Kitty L. / SHIROOKAMI