Source: Contra Costa Times, 6/11/97, Page A6 Contact: Vallejo raises $7,500 for a drug sniffing police pooch By DRAEGER MARTINEZ TIME5 STAFF WRITER VALLEJO He maybe a Labrador retriever or a beagle or basset hound. He might still need to outgrow a puppy's awkwardness, or he might be older; more focused and alert. "He" may well be a female. Whatever its particulars, the drug dog coming to Vallejo will be trained to sniff out and stop narcotics dealers. "We're happy to receive this enhancement to our services," said Police Chief Bob Nichelini, "The last couple of years, we've been focusing on streetcorner drug dealing, and the dog will help us find hidden drugs our humans officers can't detect." Nichelini was to collect roughly $7,500 raised by neighborhood groups at a Vallejo City Council meeting Tuesday The Neighborhood Narcotics Committee, a branch of the Mayor's Committee on Law and Order; and Vallejo Crime Stoppers had been fund raising since March. The $7,500 will pay for the dog a sixweek training course, handler instruction and the dog's care during the 199798 fiscal year; said neighborhood committee leader Mike Reddeg Big dogs like German shepherds and Rottweilers are not commonly used as drug dogs, police Lt. Tony Pearsall said. "They're looking for sniffing power more than brute strength," he said Police also have to select the canine's handler carefully The dog will move into the handler's home and will stay by his side 24 hours a day for the rest of the dog's life," Reddeg said. Crime Stoppers President Gene Ball said that donor Jack MacDonald put the fundraising goal over the top with a $4,000 check. "He came up to us a week or two ago, and asked how much we were short by," Ball said. "His mother had recently passed away; and she loved Vallejo, so he wanted to help with something she'd have been proud of." Reddeg said he appreciated the community's response and involvement. "Something can be done, even if there's not a budget item for it. The community can come through," he said.