APD K-9 Vuk

Originally from The Netherlands, Vuk (pronounced
"Vook") means wolf in Croatian and was the winning
name in the "Name That Dog" Contest submitted by Nevil
Easterling, who was a 5th-grader at Patton Elementary in
Spring 2005. Vuk is a promising police dog and is very
focused on his training, yet friendly with everyone when
not on duty.

Officer Eveleth and Vuk certified as a Patrol K-9 team in
February 2006. One week after certification, they got
their first apprehension tracking down an auto thief in an
apartment complex parking lot.

Vuk lives with a 200-lb. male mastiff named Cyrus and a
mixed-breed female named Kayla, whom he has a crush
on. Unfortunately, the mastiff does not approve of this
romance and Vuk remains frustrated in love.

Skunk Story - Vuk picked up the scent of an animal while searching for a burglary suspect.
Vuk and Daniel were in a field when Vuk vanished beneath tall grasses, and Daniel had a
good idea that he was focusing on the wrong kind of prey. Before Daniel could call him
back, Vuk had a skunk literally by the juncture of its tail to its body, and, of course, the skunk
let loose with a defensive spray directly into Vuk's face and front neck and chest. The spray
was an excellent deterrent, and Vuk immediately dropped the skunk who fled the scene.
Daniel, on the other hand, had a long night ahead of him: he had to drive in his patrol car
trapped with an extremely smelly dog, find Officer Greg White who had the recipe for skunk
odor removal, get the ingredients, and then wash Vuk repeatedly. Surprisingly, Vuk wasn't
too bothered by the scent after initial contact, but he was very unhappy about the multitude
of baths. Daniel had to discard Vuk's leather harness because the smell could not be
removed. None of the skunk odor removal remedies worked, including tomato sauce.

Shooting - Two suspects shot at four kids and hit one of them in the back then ran into an
apartment complex near Rundberg & Lamar. The shooter was described as a male
wearing blue shorts, a do-rag, and a black shirt. Vuk cleared the complex, then headed
through a field to a treeline where he quickly located a man cowering in some bushes.
Initially, they thought the man was not the shooter because he wasn't dressed as
described, but rather wearing khaki pants and a baseball cap. However, his demeanor led
Daniel to believe that he was somehow involved. Upon further investigation, the police
discovered that the man Vuk found had somehow changed his clothing because he was
wearing the blue shorts underneath the khaki pants. Where he gained the additional pants
and cap is unknown. But if Vuk had not led the police to where the suspect was hiding, it is
likely he would have gotten away because the police were looking for a suspect dressed
completely differently.

Kong Toy Destroyed - Vuk was searching for a suspect involved in family violence when
the suspect leapt a wall. Vuk tried to follow over the wall at a different location and was
caught in mid-air by Daniel because there was a 20-foot drop. The search was aborted
and an extremely frustrated Vuk was returned to his car to rest. Daniel gave him his Kong
toy as a reward and was surprised when Vuk crushed the Kong so thoroughly in his jaws
that he broke it into two pieces.