| APD K-9 Patrol Newsletter |
| August 2005 |
| Volume 2, Number 8 |
| Community |
| On Tuesday, July 19th, Officer Eveleth and Vuk were invited to the Milk Bone “Make Your Dog Famous Search” event in northwest Austin. If you remember, Milk Bone donated $5000 towards the purchase of Vuk last spring and they wanted take a look at our newest police canine. Milk Bone was back in Austin as part of their nationwide search “offering Pet Parents across the country the chance to put their precious pooch’s face on the front of Milk Bone boxes” at the H.E.B. on FM 620 from 2 P.M. to 8 P.M. with a mobile photo and activity center tour stop. More info on the contest and how to enter your dog’s picture online (it’s not too late to enter!) is at http://www.milkbone.com/mydfs/index.aspx. |
| Arrest Highlights |
| Arrests made in the month of July include: |
| Officer Mierl & Chase – Officer Mierl was called to assist David sector in searching for a burglary suspect near Ben White and Banister. The suspect initially was spotted trying to break into a business and had fled the area. This suspect matched the description of a burglary suspect who may have been involved in over 20 other burglaries. While Officer Mierl was driving to the scene, he noticed a suspect matching the description next to a business at Ben White and South First. The suspect saw him and tried to walk away, but Mierl jumped out with K-9 Chase and warned the suspect to stop. The suspect saw Chase and decided to give up (smart choice!). It turned out that the suspect was trying to break into the business when Mierl and Chase arrested him. Great job Chase!!!! |
| Vuk is back to basic training after his recovery from his broken leg. He has restarted basic obedience and is doing well. Meanwhile, Officer Eveleth has completed all the classroom portions of the Patrol Dog School and is now ready to begin the fieldwork.The drug program is still creeping along. The odors the dogs will be trained to detect in order they are learning the scents are marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, tar heroin, and methamphetamines. The dogs are not street-ready until they certify as reliably locating all of the narcotics mentioned. |
| Training |
| K-9 Patrol Unit News |
| Aztek is seriously being considered as a narcotics dog. He is currently living at home with a Narcotics Unit Detective and his pet Black Labrador. Aztek has adjusted well in his new situation and, because he really likes other dogs, gets along great with the Black Lab. Officers Davenport and Mierl both made a presentation to an AISD summer school program for 15 to 18-year-old students interested in Crime Scene Technician work. They spoke of how the police dog helps locate suspects and hidden evidence at a crime scene. The class appeared to be interested and appreciative of the presentation, which is always a good thing. |
| Upcoming |
| Pending - New police canine for Officer Forbes. August 2nd - “National Night Out” |
| DJ’s Training Tips What is Operant Conditioning? Operant conditioning is learning that involves an increase in the probability of a response occurring as a function of reinforcement. In other words, if you reinforce a behavior, then that behavior will reoccur more often. When we use operant conditioning, we find a reinforcement (reward) that the dog values greatly. The dog is then given the reward for completing the behavior, such as the “sit” command. The dog learns to sit because the behavior is being reinforced with the reward (i.e., food, toy, or praise) the dog values. |
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| APD K-9 PATROL INFORMATION CONTACT: Officer DJ Lahr darrin.lahr@ci.austin.tx.us EDITOR: Rose Kaminski rose@k9crimefighters.com WE’RE ON THE WEB! For more information: www.k9crimefighters.com |
| Last updated 12/22/2005 |
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| Check This Out! Remember that K-9 Patrol’s dogs ride in specially designed vehicles with their own air conditioning. The vehicle is left running and cool air flows continuously, even when the officer leaves the vehicle for extended periods of time. However, most other animals who ride in cars and trucks are not so lucky. "Don't Leave Me in Here — It's Hot!" Flyer The Animal Protection Institute's flyer may have saved countless animal lives over the years. With its tips on prevention and treatment, the flyer has proven to be a painless reminder that alerts someone of the dangers of leaving animals in the car while he or she is shopping. Whenever you see a parked car with animals inside who are not in imminent danger, place the flyer under the windshield wiper. The flyer is available in PDF format at: http://www.mydogiscool.com/ b_flyer.php. |
| - Draco has completed his scent box training on marijuana, cocaine, and crack cocaine. He has started searching buildings and vehicles with those odors. |
| - Kozmo has completed his scent boxes on marijuana and cocaine. He has also started searching buildings and vehicles with the two odors. |
| - Chase is currently working on detecting marijuana. He came into the program late, but is starting to make good progress after some minor bumps in the road. |
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