CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department has continued to build and maintain a K9 unit to augment its crime-fighting abilities, and this week the community is invited to take part in one of the important annual fundraisers that supports the agency's canine members.
The “Tip-A-Dog” fundraiser will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Feb. 21, at Main Street Bar and Grill, 14084 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
Not only will Clearlake Police officers help serve up breakfast, but there will be chances to purchase T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the agency's three K9 officers – Dex, Harley and Max.
Sgt. Rodd Joseph, the Clearlake Police K9 Unit supervisor, said that over the past four years the department has built its K9 unit from the ground up, thanks to community support.
In fact, the unit is an example of a program that is completely funded through donations, according to Joseph.
All three of Clearlake Police's dogs are Belgian Malinois, a breed that looks like a German Shepherd but is smaller and more compact, which allows the dogs to get into small spaces when conducting searches for people or contraband, according to Joseph.
The Belgian Malinois, according to the American Kennel Club, is a breed that has a strong desire to work, and is protective of its owners. As such, it's popular for use both by the police and the military.
Dex, handled by Officer Mike Carpenter, joined the department three and a half years ago, followed by Harley – partnered with Officer Mike Ray – who Joseph said came on board about two years ago.
The third dog, Max, is handled by Officer Elvis Cook, Joseph said. Max joined the department in April 2013.
The city pays for the K9 handlers' salaries and provides the patrol vehicles. Joseph said the unit raises funds to cover the rest of its costs.
“We're completely donation-funded,” said Joseph.
Among the costs covered by donations are those for equipping handlers' patrol cars. Joseph said it costs about $10,000 per car to outfit the vehicles, with special equipment including cage units, remote door openers to let the K9s out of the cars, specialized cooling and temperature alarms.
Then there are training aids like sleeves, bite suits, toys and drug detection training equipment, he said.
And, like all dogs, the K9 officers need to keep up-to-date on vaccinations and health care. Joseph said the department's dogs also have had some expensive veterinarian bills, such as when Max needed emergency surgery last September for a potentially deadly case of gastric torsion, also known as bloat.
Joseph said there are two types of police K9 – apprehension and narcotics.
All three of Clearlake Police's dogs are certified for apprehension and are trained in protection, but only Dex so far has been certified for narcotics detection, which Joseph said is because additional funds are needed to pay for the other two dogs' certifications.
Joseph said all of the dogs have been used for finding evidence and weapons, and for tracking people.
When it comes to searching for drugs, Dex's sense of smell allows him to search a vehicle and find narcotics within just a minute or two, Joseph said, compared to a human officer, who would take much longer in the search process.
To understand Dex's ability, it's helpful to note that scientists say a dog's olfactory sense is between 10,000 and 100,000 times more acute than a human's. A report by the PBS series “Nova” explained that dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to six million for the average human.
In addition to making searches quicker and more successful, Joseph said the dogs also reduce officer injury by going into dangerous situations, and helping quickly subdue suspects who are fleeing or otherwise resisting arrest.
Besides their work as crime fighters, the dogs are popular ambassadors for the department. Harley and Officer Ray have visited with local elementary school children, who were eager to learn about the dogs and what they do.
Meeting the training requirements to keep the dogs up-to-date with their certifications is expensive and time intensive. Joseph said the department has an $8,000 annual contract with a service provider that provides training for all three of the department's dogs.
The California Peace Officers Association has issued new training recommendations for K9s throughout the state that suggests 12 hours per month for the dog's first discipline and eight additional hours for the second discipline, Joseph said.
Altogether, Joseph said Dex and Carpenter do 24 hours of training monthly, with the teams of Harley and Ray, and Max and Cook doing 12 hours each of monthly training.
An example of that training took place on Feb. 3. The Clearlake Police's K9 teams – joined by K9 units from other agencies – took part in a training at Mendo Mill that involved “real world” scenarios, the agency reported.
While Joseph said the department would like to have a fourth dog to ensure around-the-clock K9 coverage, there isn't a current plan for purchasing another dog.
The K9 program is very beneficial for the Clearlake Police Department, and the unit's members are determined to cover the cost. “That's why these fundraisers are so important to the unit,” said Joseph.
He said that, in addition to this week's “Tip-A-Dog” event, there are several other fundraisers that take place throughout the year, including a pizza fundraiser and a June dinner and dance.
Plus, there are black sweatshirts that say “Clearlake Police K9, Wrong time to run” for sale at $30 apiece, plus gray T-shirts that depict all three of the dogs and cost $15 each for adults and $10 each for children.
Other fundraising ideas also are in the works, Joseph added.
For more information about the Clearlake Police K9 Unit, as well as upcoming events and fundraisers, visit the unit's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/CPDK9 , or contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.
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