Working Like A Dog K-9S Do Important Detective Work For Police, Fire Agencies

Major regularly walks the streets, uncovering evidence and tracking criminals. But you won’t find him donning the same blue uniform as his Spokane Police Department partner.

That’s because this dedicated public servant has a tail and four legs.

Snooper sleuths are worth their weight in more than doggie treats.

Dogs like Major save taxpayers millions of dollars by putting their noses to the grindstone to sniff out everything from criminals and drugs to bombs, weapons and combustibles. When they aren’t fighting crime, some visit area schools, where they educate children about safety.

Recently, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department enlisted the help of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms canine/agent team in the ongoing investigation of serial-killings suspect Robert Lee Yates Jr. Cascade, a 4-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, and her handler, Special Agent Craig Chillcott, specialize in detecting explosives and weapons.

Cascade did an alert on five or six different areas inside Yates’ home, which the department will further investigate, says sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan, who met Cascade.

“She’s about the most laid-back and lazy-looking dog, but she’s very effective in what she does,” he says.

Rhonda Trahern, chief of the Canine Operations Branch of the ATF, based in Washington, D.C., says the ATF chooses Labrador retrievers for explosives detecting because of their nonaggressive nature.

Cascade and her seven counterparts are in demand for a number of high-profile investigations.

“We’ve helped with the Olympics and with NATO. My canine handlers are constantly on the road. We get inquiries all the time for their assistance,” Trahern says.

The ATF canines were originally trained as guide dogs. Although their excessive sniffing made them poor choices for leading blind people, that same quality makes them ideal for finding weapons and explosives.

“Sniffing for us is great,” says Trahern.

The dogs are about 18 months old when they arrive at the ATF’s Canine Training Center in Virginia. Trainers focus the first 45 days on honing their smelling skills. The canines then join their future handlers for 10 more weeks of rigorous joint training.

“Right now we’re training an average of 50 to 60 canines (per year),” says Trahern.

The center also prepares dogs and handlers for other law enforcement endeavors, such as the State Department Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, which has shipped more than 200 canines to friendly countries that need help tightening security.

While celebrities like Cascade bask in the national spotlight, local heroes diligently work to keep Spokane’s streets safe.

Many criminals rue the day a member of Sgt. Chuck Reisenauer’s K-9 unit arrived on the scene. Several weeks ago, Major and his colleague, both German shepherds, canvassed Liberty Park in search of suspects in a drive-by shooting and arson.

While Sisco tracked the firearm on the park’s east side, Major headed west in hot pursuit of two suspects. Major collared the first suspect, and then the other suspect apparently had second thoughts about tangling with the furry arm of the law.

“He came running out and surrendered to police,” Reisenauer says.

Patrolling a beat with a K-9 has benefits. While darkness, thick vegetation and hilly terrain slow human officers, K-9s take such obstacles in stride.

“It took Sisco about five minutes to track the firearm. To use a team of officers would take probably a couple of hours,” says Reisenauer.

The previous week, Major apprehended a suspect who’d assaulted a minimart employee with a baseball bat during a robbery. The suspect (found a short distance away) couldn’t hide from Major’s supersensitive snooper.

“They have the ability to smell from 100 to 1 million times better than humans, depending upon whom you ask,” says Reisenauer.

The Post Falls Fire Department boasts a canine crime fighter named Abbey. The 7-year-old black Labrador retriever was on death row in Wisconsin when she was rescued by a volunteer group and placed into an arson dog program. Abbey now aids in fire investigations throughout the Northwest.

More than a year ago, Abbey played a key role in an investigation in Moscow, Idaho, involving a suspicious fire at the probation and parole office.

“We’ve had several cases over here where she’s been an integral part of getting an arrest and conviction,” says Chief Lynn Borders, Abbey’s handler.

Abbey is methodical as she sniffs around the remains of charred buildings. She’s on the prowl for hydrocarbons (such as gasoline) that are used to ignite fires.

When Abbey finds a suspicious substance, she alerts Borders by sitting. He commands her, “Show me.”

Abbey then points her nose to evidence, which is gathered and taken to another location. There, the Labrador gives it another sniff test. If Abbey signals a second time, the sample is sent for analyzing.

Abbey’s work makes it easier to gather samples, improves lab results and even saves the department money, says Borders.

Three to five times a day, Borders does basic imprinting with Abbey. He places one drop of gasoline on a cotton ball, drops it into an unlined paint can and hides it. Abbey then plays Find The Accelerant with her trainer.

“It becomes a game to them, but it’s also training. We test them on accuracy,” says Borders.

While Abbey works for handouts of her daily food allotment, Major and his seven K-9 colleagues work mainly for praise. The dogs live with their trainers and become part of their families. Both Reisenauer and Borders emphasize that the personal relationship between the dogs and their handlers plays a huge role in motivation. Breed isn’t as important as willingness to please and one other essential quality.

“We look for a dog that has a high play drive. It has to be fun for them, or they won’t do it,” says Reisenauer.

Although many of Reisenauer’s dogs were imported from Europe, homegrown K-9s are rising up through the ranks after training in the Spokane Police Department’s puppy program.

“Right now we have a chocolate Lab that we’ve trained, and she’s working the streets,” says Reisenauer.

The K-9s are indeed busy. In 1999, six patrol dogs were used 2,000 times, making 70 felony captures and 50 misdemeanor arrests. Two drug dogs saw action 800 times.

“Their success rate is probably around 70 percent, which is probably the highest in the state of Washington,” says Reisenauer.

Abbey and some of her colleagues have retirement plans. When their crime-fighting careers end, most will continue to live with their handlers and make the transition to a slower pace … tracking only squirrels.