Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 Source: Wellington Daily News (KS) Copyright: 2005 Wellington Daily News Contact: http://www.wgtndailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3541 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) BANDO TO RETIRE, NEW RECRUIT SOUGHT Brando is the Sumner County Sheriff Department K-9, an 8-year-old Dutch Shepherd who has dedicated six years of service to the department. "He lives for the work," said Deputy Danny Ellis, K-9 handler. Unfortunately, Brando has begun to develop some hip problems and has had to retire a few of his duties as a patrol dog. Soon, he will retire from the department altogether. Ellis says Brando no longer does the bite work because the training was hard on his hips so they couldn't keep him certified in that area. Brando was initially trained as a bark and hold dog by the Kansas Highway Patrol in the first year of his training, meaning that if he sets out to apprehend a criminal who runs or threatens them, he will stop if that criminal stops, even without the verbal commands of his handler. Ellis says this is a very difficult training technique. After that year, Brando was purchased by the Sumner County Sheriff's Department because of a timing issue with the the Highway Patrol training schedule. Brando is also trained to enter a building and apprehend criminals, so that an officer might not have to walk in on an individual who is known to be armed. By dropping some of those patrol duties, Sumner County Sheriff Gerald Gilkey says they hope to prolong Brando's drug detection work, a key component in his aide to the department. Brando has also assisted departments in Harper, Cowley and Sedgwick Counties, as well as responded to several calls from the Kansas Turnpike. Brando is an apt drug dog, with the ability to search for drugs in vehicles. Ellis says this has been an asset to the department in drug discovery because when Brando alerts on a vehicle, the officers can then search it on the spot, even without a search warrant. Brando is also skilled in tracking individuals, as he has proven by locating a loose inmate in Mulvane and ending a foot chase from the Turnpike, among other cases. Another of his skills is evidence searching. In any given area, he can work it alone to alert his handler to any items with fresh human odor. In a common trick shown at D.A.R.E. camps, Ellis will throw his keys into an open lot and then send Brando to find them, and in seconds Brando will lay on them to alert Ellis of their location. Ellis said he will also alert to items which are foreign to the area, such as a red brick in the middle of a grassy field. It's anyone's guess how long he will continue that work. "It's up to him and his hips to decide when he'll retire," said Ellis. Ellis said they are looking into the purchase of a K-9 to bring to the department when Brando retires. It will be a lengthy process of lining up the dog and handler, who would likely train the dog for a month or two to prepare it for the Kansas Police Dog Association training. Ellis would then train the dog through the academy and keep it through its service to the department. The dog will likely cost the department $7,500 for a dog. Training for drug detection and patrol, with abilities including drug searching, tracking, evidence searching, building searching, handler protection, and criminal apprehension, will bring the total near $10,000, a goal Gilkey says they soon hope to meet through fund-raising efforts now underway. It's an exciting time, to be adding another to the department. Ellis says they don't know if it will be a male or female, and says they will not name it either. The transition is exciting for Ellis, who says he looks forward to retiring Brando from his life of work. "I look forward to when I retire him because I can take him to the park and let him play," said Ellis. After retirement, Brando's life will be for the first time that of a dog able to chase ducks and rabbits, swim in the lake, fetch frisbees and get toys and bones just to be spoiled. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager