K-9 officer Joey Skaggs and his dog Nitro along with K-9 officer Greg Plunkett and Bok completed training the first week of March, said Police Chief Benny Womack. The handlers trained for 12 weeks in Huntsville, the chief said.

Skaggs is a veteran handler who trained with the department’s newest dog Nitro, who replaced the retired Kilo. Plunkett is the department’s newest handler.

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The March issue will feature Greene and Nitro, a 5-year-old black and tan Slovak German Shepherd. The narcotic patrol team was honored for their 510 canine uses in 2009, which is considered an extremely high number of uses. Those included 314 building searches, in which he apprehended suspects 65 times. The team had about 90 arrests in 2009.

“During my career I have not seen another team able to match the canine uses and success that John and Nitro have displayed,” Terry Foley, owner of K9 Academy Training Facility, said in his nomination letter.

In one incident last September, Nitro sniffed out three men who broke into an elementary school. Officers on the scene had been trying for an extended period of time to find them and couldn’t. Nitro found the suspects in a cubby hole and they immediately surrendered.

Greene is a veteran police officer who has been with the Detroit Public Schools Police Department for 4.5 years and previously worked at the Detroit Police Department.

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Photo by Jennifer Hayes Two Middletown High School students have devoted their senior project to buying a bullet/stab proof vest for K-9 Nitro of the Middletown Police Department. Pictured (from left to right) are Anna Richman, Middletown Police Officer Mark Miller, K-9 Nitro and Shelby Guhl.

A recent incident involving a New Castle County police dog has proved K-9 officers put their lives on the line every day just like their human partners.
As police K-9 Diablo is recovering from gunshot wounds he received while in the line of duty two weeks ago, two students at Middletown High School are working locally to help keep K-9s safe.
For their senior project, Shelby Guhl and Anna Richman want to raise funds to buy a ballistic/stab proof vest for the Middletown Police Department’s only K-9 officer, Nitro.
While the two began organizing their project three months ago, K-9 Diablo’s injuries confirmed to the students why they chose to help the police department.
“It made everything we’re doing a little more real,” said Shelby. “People realized the dog is an active member of the police department.”
To raise the funds, Shelby and Anna are organizing a 5k run/walk to be held Saturday, Dec. 5.    The $25 registration fee will all go toward the vest, which costs approximately $1,000.
Anna said the vest can have real life-saving effects for the police dog that wears it.
“It’s woven with titanium, making it puncture resistant and bullet proof,” she said.
This is not the first time Shelby and Anna have done this project. When they were in seventh grade they collected donations and raised money completely on their own to buy vests for the Delaware State Police and New Castle County Police dogs.
“We thought this would be a perfect thing to do again, since the police station is so new,” said Shelby. “We think it’s important for people to know about the dogs. Maybe it’s farfetched, but Nitro might help you out one day.”
Middletown Police Officer Mark Miller, Nitro’s handler, said the incident with Diablo hit home for him because Nitro and Diablo were in the same training classes and graduated from K-9 academy together.
“We all realize it can happen to any one of us, whether it’s with our dog or without. It hurts a bit more when it’s somebody you know and spend a significant amount of time with, as well as his dog,” he said. “I was there when they picked Diablo up, went through training and then saw him go from dog to a really awesome patrol dog.”
Miller said 3-year-old Nitro is faced with dangerous situations all the time, and this vest would certainly be beneficial.
“You’re asking an animal to go after a human being, something that’s not in it’s normal food chain, and tell it go do it’s job with no vest and no gun,” he said. “He can’t shoot back. It touches my heart that people in the community want to give back to us and give us a little something.”
Miller said the run/walk is a good way to give back to the community and have fun with their dogs.
“While Nitro is assigned to me, he belongs to the Town of Middletown and the police department,” he said. “I’m just his foster dad. We have that special bond, but I want people to understand that this is their K-9 unit and their police department.”
Miller and Nitro will be on site at the event, taking part in the 5K and possibly performing demonstrations.
The event will begin at American K-9 Doggie Day Care & Training Center, 128 Patriot Drive, Middletown, and will continue through Levels Dog Park. Shelby and Anna are looking for sponsors for the event. For more information, call 302-530-1355 or 302-593-1977.

IF YOU GO
WHAT 5K Run/Walk to help support the purchase of a bullet proof vest for Middletown Police Department’s K-9 Unit.
WHEN Saturday, Dec. 5. Registration begins at 9 a.m., and the Run/Walk begins at 10 a.m.
WHERE American K-9 Doggie Day Care & Training Center, 128 Patriot Drive, Units 11 and 12, Middletown.
COST of registration is $25. Registration forms can be filled out at www.ak9training.com or at the event.
FOR MORE INFORMATION call Shelby at 302-530-1355 or Anna at 302-593-1977.

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The young black German Shepherd, bred in Czechoslovakia, is scheduled to attend training with K-9 officer Joey Skaggs in November. Kilo, a 10-year-old Hungarian-bred German Shepherd, will live with Skaggs and may still be used for demonstrations, like show-and-tell at schools.

Police said Nitro was purchased last month from a vendor in Kentucky for $7,500. Skaggs will train the 2-year-old for certification at a Huntsville Police Department facility for three months. Skaggs said he would spend the next two years or more training Nitro for “street use.”

“Really, the dog is training the whole time because you never come across the same situation twice,” said Skaggs, whose 11-year-old son Blake named Nitro.

Albertville police Chief Benny Womack said the Huntsville Police Department doesn’t charge any fees to use its site for training and praised Huntsville police Chief Henry Reyes for his cooperation.

“In my opinion, they have the premiere canine program in the Southeast,” Womack said. “

Skaggs emphasized handlers like him train their own dogs.

“A lot of folks get the misconception as a handler, we don’t train the dogs,” he said. “We train our own dogs and Huntsville oversees it.”

While Skaggs shares a strong bond with Kilo, he reluctantly admitted, “Nitro’s already 10 times the dog Kilo was.”

Albertville has four K-9 dogs on the force, used mostly for narcotics detection but also for tracking and apprehension. Josh Isbell handles Mako and Thomas Ball is partnered with Kaiser. The department plans to assign a fourth officer to Bok in time for training in November.

Womack said the K-9s are insured, and a local businessman, who doesn’t want to be identified, contributes all the food for the K-9 unit. Donations over the years have also helped create a cost-effective program.

“When I became chief I wanted to have access to narcotics detection dogs,” Womack said. “They have been very valuable to us in a lot of different ways.”

Skaggs said Kilo’s very first street bust tallied close to $500,000 of marijuana and the drug ice. More sociable than the typical K-9, Kilo served for about five years, police said.

“He paid for himself the very first time,” Skaggs said. “Kilo’s been with us the longest. He’s getting old and he’s having some hip problems.”

Womack and the K-9 officers said an unexplainable bond often forms between the officers and the dogs. The dogs live and receive care at the officers’ homes, but the animals become partners rather than pets.

“You don’t want to get the dog too social,” Isbell said.

The transition from the trained Kilo to the untrained Nitro will take some time for Skaggs, but the most experienced K-9 officer on the force is prepared.

“Kilo’s more like a member of the family,” Skaggs said. “The hardest part is just the bonding issue. We’re with these dogs more than we are our families.”

K-9 officers, like Skaggs, Isbell and Ball, perform their duties in addition to the regular job of an officer.

“We’re patrolmen, then we’re K-9,” said Ball, who spent four years in the Air Force working with K-9s.

Womack said officers have to apply for the K-9 unit, and the job requires a specific mentality and energy level.

“We have to choose the right person,” the chief said. “The motivating factor has to impress me before an officer can handle a dog. It’s not easy for these officers. It’s a constant thing. They get an incentive for it but it’s not much.”

The dogs are certified annually, and K-9 officers have to remain updated on laws, particularly the ones regarding searches and apprehensions.

Womack said the dogs have actually received threats, which is why they’re closely monitored.

“There are people who would like to see the demise of police dogs,” Womack said. “It’s a Class C felony for anyone to kill a certified police dog.”

Despite the high maintenance issues involving the dogs, the K-9 officers said they love their jobs.

“It’s by far the best job in the department,” Ball said. “What helps is we have the support of the citizens and the whole department, from the chief on down.”

Skaggs is especially proud of the city’s K-9 unit.

“We’ve got a good program now,” Skaggs said. “Like the chief said, Huntsville has got the premiere program, but we’re knocking on the door.”

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K9 Nitro, Aberdeen Photo: Officer Steve Timmons, Aberdeen Police Department

Poor Nitro. The six year-old German Shepherd police dog tried not to take it personally when he was laid off from the Aberdeen Police Department last month. Police Chief Bob Torgerson blamed it on budget cuts, which forced him to eliminate Nitro’s job, which costs the department $12,000 annually, reports the Seattle Times.

Most of that $12,000 is comprised of overtime pay for K-9 police officer Steve Timmons to care for Nitro during off hours. Timmons offered to donate his time and work for free, but the department, union rules and federal and state labor laws made that an impossibility.

Instead, after Nitro was laid off, Officer Timmons started fundraising to bring back his canine partner, who had helped collar 35 to 40 suspects since joining the force in 2005.

Officer Timmons’ efforts paid off and he raised $13,000 — enough for Nitro to re-join the force and work for the next year and a half. “He’s anxious to get back to work,” Officer Timmons said, appearing this week with Nitro on a televised interview.

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The Daily World reports that police Officer Steve Timmons is raising money to bring his partner back after the German Shepherd was cut from the force earlier this month.

Police Chief Bob Torgerson says laying Nitro off saves the department $12,000 a year. That’s mostly in overtime the city pays Timmons to care for the dog during off hours.

Timmons says he wants to work with the city and union to eliminate the overtime. He also wants to donate his time but says federal rules and labor laws won’t allow it. Timmons is also seeking donations to cover Nitro’s food if he returns to work.

Six-year-old Nitro has helped nab between 35 and 40 suspects since he joined the force in 2005. The dog has been with Timmons since he was laid off.

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