by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
It may surprise some people to learn K-9 law enforcement officers spend more time with their dogs than with their spouses or children.
That statement by St. Cloud Police K-9 Officer Brian Cameron raised warm and sympathetic laughter at the annual Cookout with Cops event on Aug. 25 in Sartell.
Hundreds of senior citizens attended the event, sponsored and paid for by the Sartell Police Department with the help of many generous donations. The concept for Cookout with Cops is to help develop a bond between law enforcement and seniors. This year’s event, as in most previous years, was held at the Gathering Place hall at St. Francis Xavier Church.
Seniors, police officers and guests enjoyed a barbecued meal cooked by cops. There were several guest speakers during the two-hour dinner. Two of the guests were Cameron and his colleague, Officer Janelle Haas, also of the St. Cloud Police Department. Both K-9 officers, they gave stunning demonstrations of how their K-9 partners are helpful in law enforcement. The officers and their dogs often help other cities, including Sartell, with their K-9 dogs when needed, such as the search for a suspect fleeing on foot, a missing child or in locating a vulnerable adult who has wandered off.
Cameron’s dog, who wasn’t at the event, is named Rommel, a 4-year-old German Shepherd. Haas’s dog, Ruger, also a 4-year-old German Shepherd, was the “star” of the show, eliciting admiration, laughs and even amazement from the audience of seniors.
Both dogs were born and raised in their puppy years in the Czech Republic, then eventually found their way to Minneapolis, where the St. Cloud officers picked them up. Training in Minneapolis was an intensive, three-month-long process of officers and dogs getting to know one another, learning to bond tightly every hour of the day. The Czech Republic is known for a bloodline of German Shepherds that makes superb and reliable K-9 helpers.
Haas, Cameron and Ruger did several demonstrations in the open lounge area of the Gathering Place. Earlier, the officers had hidden a small packet of cocaine in a flower box on a table against the wall. A packet of marijuana was hidden under a pillow of the big plush couch.
At a command, Ruger immediately began pacing and sniffing, trotting right to the hidden cocaine packet. Immediately, Haas gave Ruger his reward – a rope toy. Later, Ruger obeyed another “Seek Dope” command from Haas and scampered across the lounge, sniffing, sniffing, right up to the hidden marijuana. Once again, Ruger claimed his treat, the rope toy.
Still later, Haas and Cameron demonstrated how Ruger is an expert at apprehending suspects by grabbing their right arms. Wearing a thick protective full-arm sleeve, Cameron pretended he was going to lunge or flee. At command from Haas, the dog leaped across the floor and instantly, expertly grabbed Cameron’s right arm, refusing to let go, biting into the sleeve as Cameron tried to get free.
After each demonstration, the audience applauded officers and Ruger the Wonder Dog.
Cameron explained how K-9 dogs become so adept in searches and apprehensions. The two keys, he said, are toys and food. Many years ago, K-9s were trained through pain application. If the dog did not obey, it was hit or otherwise hurt by some kind of pain infliction. Fortunately, those cruel methods have gone by the wayside. Now, dogs are trained by giving the reward of a toy or some food.
To K-9 dogs, Cameron noted, their work is actually a fun game. They do what they do so well because they are always rewarded. Even the right arm of a fleeing suspect is, to the dog, a “toy” to be caught since the dog was trained to think of the protective training sleeve as a toy. Ruger’s favorite toy is two cotton balls connected by a foot-long piece of tough rope.
Cameron noted K-9 dogs are not attack dogs and are not vicious in the slightest. The worst harm a suspect might suffer is a few puncture marks on the arm. After a suspect is caught by the dog, and the officer quickly arrives, the dog could be petted by the suspect and be completely fine with it.
It’s vital that officer and dog develop a tight bond. That is why a K-9 officer spends so much time with the dog as a ride-along “buddy” in squad cars, as a home dog with the family and even as a family “member” on trips. They are rarely apart.
Although it varies widely, most K-9 dogs’ years of duty last from six to eight years, some as much as 10 or 12 years. What usually causes them to retire is when they develop hip dysplasia, making it painful for them to walk or run. Many K-9 pets when they retire become loving home dogs for the officers’ families. The dogs are usually 9 or 10 years old at retirement age.
“Do the dogs understand English?” one man asked Cameron.
The audience laughed, but it turned out to be a very good question.
At one time, Cameron said, police dogs were taught their commands in another language for fear the dogs would hear English all the time and get confused, or obey commands they shouldn’t. But, in fact, the dogs learn precisely when a bona fide command is given by their officer buddies, and they obey such commands flawlessly.
K-9 dogs are expensive but well worth it, Cameron said. To buy a dog, it costs anywhere from $7,500 to $10,000, with about $6,000 more required for two long sessions of specialized training. Squad cars must also be specially adapted to accommodate K-9 dogs, adding to the considerable costs.
Answering a question from the audience, Cameron said K-9 dogs are never cross-trained for both drugs and explosives. It’s always one or the other. That is because if a dog spots a hot find, the officer doesn’t have to wonder if it’s drugs or a bomb ready to go off. If an explosives-trained dog sniffs a bomb, the officer will know immediately to back off and have the dog back off so the area can be roped off and examined safely, remotely.
About a month ago, Cameron said, a Minneapolis explosives K-9 dog was quickly sent to St. Cloud to sniff out a suspicious package at a St. Cloud bank. That package, fortunately, turned out to be OK.
After Cameron’s informative talk, after the impressive demonstrations, Hass took Ruger for a tour of the audience, where table to table, seniors had the chance to pet Ruger as he enjoyed sniffing out all the affection.
In a flurry of sudden motion, Ruger moves toward the protective sleeve worn by Brian Cameron. Ruger, a K-9 German Shepherd, was trained to think of the protective sleeve as a toy to be played with. When chasing a suspect, Ruger will lunge and grab the right arm of the suspect.
Sharon Fitzgerald of Sartell pets Ruger, one of the St. Cloud Police Department’s K-9 helpers. At left is Janelle Haas, Ruger’s handler and on-duty pal.
Try as he might, K-9 pal Brian Cameron cannot shake Ruger off from his toothy grip on a protective sleeve. In the background, senior citizens are impressed by the K-9 demonstration at Cookout with Cops Aug. 25 at the Gathering Place of St. Francis Xavier Church in Sartell.
Once Ruger has bit into the protective sleeve, he will not let go. His tenacious grip can stop a fleeing suspect quickly in his tracks. In the photo with Ruger are two K-9 officers from the St. Cloud Police Department, Brian Cameron and Janelle Haas.
Tethered to a leash held by K-9 pal Janelle Haas, Ruger the German Shepherd quickly sniffs out a packet of cocaine hidden in a flower pot at the Gathering Place at St. Francis Xavier Church in Sartell.
Ruger swiftly approaches a couch where he sniffs out a packet of marijuana hidden under a couch cushion.
Janelle Haas and her K-9 pal Ruger are inseparable companions during her on-duty work hours and even off-duty as an at-home pet.
