| APD K-9 Patrol Volunteer Newsletter |
| January 2005 |
| Volume 2, Number 1 |
| Volunteer Update |
| Certification Volunteers Needed: Annual K-9 Patrol Certifications are just around the corner. We have a need for two to four volunteers to do hide work on the following nights: Mondays, January 17th and 24th from approximately 11:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M. Training locations will be determined later. Hide work can be either indoors or outdoors and entail being enclosed in dark and/or tight quarters. Some agility may be required; i.e., crawling, easy climbing, some brief spurts of running. Please note the volunteer criteria located to the left. Contact Officer Lahr by E-Mail if you have questions or can assist. |
| Arrest Highlights |
| Arrests made in the month of December include: |
| Officer Forbes and Aztek were called to assist patrol units in Charlie sector to find a male suspect that was hiding in a residence in the 1600 block of Singleton. The suspect was wanted for a felony sexual assault. He was located hiding in the attic of the residence. Officer Forbes and Aztek also assisted patrol units in Ida sector. Patrol units responded to the 9700 block of North Lamar on a burglary in progress and saw a rope hanging from the ceiling inside a business. Forbes arrived with Aztek and gave loud verbal warnings to the suspect hiding inside. The suspect was smarter than most and came out of hiding, giving up to Aztek immediately. Officer Davenport and Ammo assisted Charlie sector in the 2900 block of Higgins. A patrol unit stopped a vehicle with a suspect inside wanted for an aggravated assault. Ammo assisted in taking the suspect into custody without any resistance. |
| Community |
| K-9 Crime Fighters has raised almost $1,300 in less than four months. The good news is that they are in the black and every dollar earned goes towards training equipment directly related to Austin’s police dogs and to raise public awareness and support for the unit. Thank you to everyone who has helped support APD’s K-9 Patrol with K-9 Crime Fighters purchases and donations. And a very special thank you to Bob Paules, not only for bankrolling the initial merchandise investment, but for his steadfast reliability and creative engineering solutions for working the booth and his cheerful disposition in dealing with the public! A new police dog will be added to the unit by the middle of 2005. APD’s K-9 will have a “Name That Dog” Contest in which local elementary school children can compete. In addition to naming the new dog, the winner and his/her classmates will receive prizes sponsored by K-9 Crime Fighters. According to one survey, the five most common dog names are Duke, Brandy, Max, Sam, and Shadow. We shall see if Austin school kids are able to come up with more creative entries. Volunteers will be needed to assist with this contest and more details will be provided in the coming months. |
| K-9 Patrol Unit News |
| The K-9 Selection Board took place on December 16th, 2004. After a long interview process and background investigation, the 7th handler has been selected and his name is Officer Daniel Eveleth. He currently is serving in mounted patrol downtown and officially will be transferred to the K-9 unit after Mardi Gras in February 2005. Daniel has about two years of experience working with APD horses and has a personal interest in dogs. Once he transfers to K-9, he will begin the long process of becoming a certified dog handler, and his new canine partner will be selected approximately two months after he begins training. Next month we will introduce him in the newsletter, letting all the K-9 volunteers learn a little more about him. In the months following, we will all track his training progress and that of his new dog! |
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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 January 4, 2006 |
| Volunteer Criteria: Generally, simply being willing and able to volunteer is all that is needed to help. Please note that all volunteers are greatly appreciated, but in cases where more volunteers are available to assist than are needed for a particular task, the following criteria will be used to help maintain a fair and standard process: 1. Rotation (provide opportunities to as many people who would like to assist as possible) 2. Physical Ability (able to hide in small spaces, run short distances 3. Good Communication Skills & Ability to Follow Instructions 4. Experience (proven capability for a task) |
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| Training |
| The Narcotics Dog Training program started on December 13th for the handlers. A basic overview of the course was conducted for the three K-9 handlers. The entire drug program will be 175-T.C.L.E.O.S.E hours. Classroom training for the handlers will continue in January, and the dog training will start sometime afterwards. We will be following the progress of Aztek, Kozmo, and Draco in the coming months as they learn to search for heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamines. Final drug certification is tentatively scheduled for April 18, 2005. |
| Upcoming |
| Introduction of the new 7th K-9 handler in February 2005. Annual Patrol Dog Certifications in February 2005. “Name That Dog” Contest in February/March 2005. |
| According to tests made at the Institute for the Study of Animal Problems in Washington, D.C., dogs and cats, like people, are either right-handed or left-handed --- that is, they favor either their right or left paws. Want to calculate your dog’s age? Forget the seven-year rule and visit http://www.uexplore.com/misc /dogyears.htm for a more accurate assessment. |