|
 Photo Elliott Burr/Town Crier
Don’t let the playful kisses on your nose fool you. Los Altos’ new K-9, Lord, means business, too. Lord barks while officer Mark Thomsen (not pictured) pretends to be a victim in distress. His bark alerts officers of a situation. There’s a new officer in town, but the police chief won’t expect him to suit up in uniform anytime soon. After all, those tight police pants might cramp his wagging tail. Lord, the new Los Altos police K-9, earned his spot on the force Nov. 25 after completing a monthlong training course. Lord assumes the position after the retirement of his furry predecessor, 9-year-old Ringo, and had his first 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. patrol shift last Wednesday.
His handler, Los Altos Police Officer Julie Ognoskie, said the department chose the $6,000, 2-year old, all-black German Shepherd from a lineup of four other candidates. Technically, Lord is a “Schutzhund,” German for “protection dog.” “We chose him for his temperament, and he’s really good with kids,” Ognoskie said. But there’s more to his job than playing with children. Authorities use police dogs as apprehension and location tools. Police dogs have more highly attuned senses of smell than humans, so finding hidden suspects becomes less cat and mouse and more authority and perpetrator. “A lot of people think the dog just bites, but he can also do something called ‘bark and hold’ that’s meant to make suspects think they’re going to get bitten so they stay put. The goal isn’t always to bite the person,” Ognoskie said. Officer Mark Thomsen, Ringo’s handler and now owner, demonstrated one of Lord’s skills by posing as a victim in distress, exhibiting troubled facial expressions and body language. The dog responded by barking profusely to alert other officers to the situation. It depends on the dog, but “some will change their breathing to indicate a certain circumstance,” Ognoskie said, which is good if officers want to conceal their own presence. “The Santa Clara (County Sheriff’s Department) dog can prance around if someone’s hiding in a closet.” Ognoskie said if she’s ever on patrol and finds herself in a struggle with someone, she can remotely pop open the back door of the K-9 police cruiser and Lord will jump to her rescue. Lord, short for Lord Zlodej Slnecnic, hails from Slovakia and came to the United States a year ago. Witmer-Tyson Imports, a German Shepherd breeding business in Menlo Park, turned him over to the Los Altos Police Department Oct. 9 after a vigorous training regimen. Lord then spent time with Ognoskie during what she called a “bonding process.” Witmer-Tyson trained the dog in German, so all of his commands are spoken in his native tongue. “Platz” is “lay down,” and “gib laut” is “bark” or “speak.” Officers can also pose questions. “Was ist los?” is German for “What is going on?” While Lord has been trained in the basics, Ognoskie said he could earn narcotics and explosives certification eventually, for which SWAT K-9s are trained. Ognoskie said one of the hardest aspects of working with Lord could be suppressing her emotional attachment. Because the dog lives with her at home, she said she makes an effort to treat him as part of her job, not her personal life. Once his gig is up, though, the city-owned pooch will be Ognoskie’s to keep. It varies, but the typical working life of a police K-9 is five to seven years, according to Thomsen. Lord came to the department already named, but officers have license to change it. However, Chief Tuck Younis said in this case, “We don’t mess with the ‘Lord.’” Contact Elliott Burr at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
No Comments
There are no comments up to now.
Post Comment
We reserve the right to use comments submitted on our site in whole or in part. We will not publish comments that contain advertising or website links.
|
