| APD K-9 Patrol Newsletter |
| September 2005 |
| Volume 2, Number 9 |
| K-9 Patrol Unit News |
| Officer Forbes continues his search for a new K-9 partner. One vendor who will have dogs for us to test is Worldwide Canine Inc. in Spring Branch, Texas, which is in the Hill Country. The owner will be coming back from Europe soon with a new group of potential police dogs. |
| Arrest Highlights |
| Arrests made in the month of August include: |
| "Chase" Finds Suspect Up A Tree Officer Mierl & Chase had an interesting arrest this month. They were called by Travis County Deputies to search for a suspect who had escaped from custody. The suspect had showed signs of being under the influence of a drug and had been handcuffed and arrested by the deputy. The suspect somehow had slipped the handcuffs and jumped out the patrol car rear window. Officer Mierl arrived with Chase to search for the suspect, who had escaped into a very heavily wooded area near City Park Rd. Chase led Mierl into the dense woods and gave some “high nose” indications. Mierl told the deputies that the suspect was hiding up high above the ground. After looking up at the treetops, the suspect was found hiding in one of the trees. The suspect refused to come down and the Fire Department had to cut the tree down so the deputies could arrest the suspect. "Chase" Finds Suspect In a Shed Officer Mierl & Chase were called to David sector to search for a suspect who was spotted stealing construction materials from a work site. The suspect ran from police, and Chase found the suspect in a shed. "Draco" Finds Two Suspects with Warrants Officer Lahr & Draco assisted officers in Henry sector. A building had been broken into and Draco searched the interior. When they exited the building, Draco led Lahr down a grassy ditch to a wooden privacy fence. Behind the fence, a subject was hiding. Although he could not be linked to the burglary at the time, the suspect was arrested on an outstanding warrant.Officer Lahr & Draco assisted Henry sector when two burglary suspects ran from police. One suspect was arrested, but the other escaped. The suspect found by Draco was hiding next to a shed. This suspect had a felony drug warrant for which he was arrested. Draco Finds Drug House "Officer Lahr & Draco" were called to Adam sector to search a residence that had been broken into. When Draco searched the house, Lahr and backup K-9 handler Eveleth, found a house full of potted marijuana plants with special growing lights. The house turned out to be a drug house used to plant, grow, and harvest marijuana. Bandit Finds Burglar Inside A Building "Officer White & Bandit" assisted Edward sector on a burglary-in-progress at a convenience store. Bandit searched the building and indicated the presence of a human behind an office door inside the store. They found a suspect hiding near the cash box with a large screwdriver. |
| Training |
| AISD’s Canine Unit, which was established in 2000, has started attending Monday night training with APD’s K-9 Patrol. Two dogs from AISD are trained to detect narcotics and nitrocellulose powder, which is found in firearms and some explosive devices. Buddy, an 8-year-old male Springer Spaniel, and Manna, a 4-year-old female Flat-Coated Retriever, live at home with their partners and love to chase their balls and play with their family. Both dogs are good canine detectors, and Buddy has won medals at the Texas Police Games in K-9 Narcotics Detection several years in a row. APD’s K-9 drug detection training will be on a break while a mandatory testing of the drugs is performed to analyze the accuracy of the weight and chemical make-up of the narcotics. The analysis is done every six months to ensure that no drugs are being removed. Drug training should start up again by September. |
| Upcoming |
| - Police dog testing for Officer Forbes’ new partner -Austin Citizen’s Police Academy K-9 presentation, September 13th, 2005 |
| DJ’s Training Tips Essentials For Dog Training There are several factors an individual must know or have to properly condition a dog. A lack in any of these are will result in a poorly or improperly trained dog. 1. Knowledge A dog owner should learn about proper dog training. Lack of knowledge can lead to inefficient training methods and an unreliable dog. 2. Patience The dog owner must have a great deal of patience, since individuals commonly become frustrated with a dog's performance or abilities. However, you NEVER take these frustrations out on the dog. If you begin to lose your patience, take a break and terminate training. 3. Practice (Repetition) The phrase "practice makes perfect" applies with a minor change. "Intelligent practice makes perfect; practicing mistakes makes perfect mistakes." Dog owners must engage in intelligent practice procedures when training a dog. Ensure both you and the dog are practicing each task properly. |
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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 |
| Web Update: See our new friends Dirk & Aiko of the Belgium Railway Campagnie at www.k9crimefighters.com/ photos3. They are one of four K-9 Teams who work at Belgium’s largest rail station, Brussels South. Aiko is pictured muzzled in one of the photos. Dirk tells us that the Ministry orders that the dogs be muzzled when working, but he says Aiko is not dangerous unless he has to be. |
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