Police K-9 Demo

All photos taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8.

Since I have lived in Payson, Arizona I have noticed that once a year there is always something going on which I didn't understand. One week out of the year I would notice police cars all over the place. Even the hotel parking lots were full of police vehicles. At first I thought something serious was going on until I noticed that these police vehicles sported different Arizona town names and then I assumed that there was some kind of training going on.



One day I saw "K-9" imprinted on several of these vehicles and noticed signs around town saying only "K-9" with an arrow to direct officers or the public. I love dogs so this interested me enough to follow these signs several times to see what was going on. Many times I was directed to an area where scenerios were being set up to test the dogs. Most times I couldn't get close enough to see what was really going on but I knew these dogs were being trained and recieving certification.



What I didn't know was that at the end of the training week each year a short demonstration is put on for the public. This year the town of Payson had a large sign up all week letting everyone know that there would be a public demonstration at the Payson Event Center. My daughter and I went and we were amazed.



The first thing that was demonstrated was obedience. This is the most important thing in training these dogs. If the dog doesn't listen and respond to commands then it's life and the life of the officer could be in danger. We watched as these six dogs, some German Shepherds and some Belgian Malinois, be paraded around the event center heeling at their handler's feet. We watched as all the dogs were commanded to "stay" as their handler walked away and eventually called them back to their sides.




We watched a Gila County Sheriff pull over to the scene of someone trying to break into vehicles and releasing his dogs when the perpetrator wouldn't listen to the officer's demands. This officer has two dogs, one dog persues the perpetrator and the other, actually a narcotics dog, helps his buddy. It was pretty comical to watch the one dog attack and the other dance around like it was some kind of fun game.




Many of these dogs are trained to find evidence in a crime scene. This one demonstrated how to find a gun that had been dropped. It's amazing just how fast they are and how quickly they smell the ground. This one would dart around in a large area and if he lost the scent he would immediately turn around and make that area smaller until he zoned in on what he was after.



Then one dog and his officer walked around the audience looking for suspicious characters and found a huge bag of marijuana while they were at it. Busted! LOL.




It's amazing that these dogs can sniff out exactly what they're after and nothing more. There were two vehicles on the field, one planted with marijuana and the other planted with TNT. This dog passed by the car and sniffed out the TNT planted in the truck. We learned that this dog is a passive alert dog, meaning that when he finds what he is after he is quiet and firmly sits at the site of any explosives. I guess a noisy dog would not be a good thing in those situations. LOL.





The next dog demonstrated his skills in narcotics detection and he was quick at it. It didn't take him long to sniff out the marijuana planted in the car. This narcotics dog is what is known as an aggressive alert dog, meaning that he will bark loudly when he finds what he is after.  Now, what I want to know is if they are giving that car away at the end of the demonstration. Just kidding!



The next demonstration was just awesome. A decoy was dressed up in a suit that is 1 and 1/2 inches thick and set out in the middle of the field to take on some of these powerful dogs. The thickness of the suit helps but some of these decoys still come out with bites, scratches, and bruises from the sheer power of these dogs. That power was shown as each dog was let loose on the decoy.





Many of these dogs, once they have the perpetrator in their grasp, will not let go. Many officers had to literally pull their dogs off the decoy. Keep in mind that most of these dogs are still in training and learning when to let go.



Just look at those huge jaws! Wow, I would not want to be in the decoy's place without a protective suit!




Each dog was given it's favorite toy after doing a good job. It's amazing how these dogs can do their jobs with such power and yet can be very gentle and live with an officer's family when off-duty.



Law enforcement dogs are very important in protecting our safety as well as the officer's safety. They are the awesome in the prevention and detection of crime. The organization that put on this public demo and training is called A.L.E.C.A., Arizona Law Enforcement Canine Association. They are run by public donations and merchandise sales.

If you are interested in A.L.E.C.A. merchandise or in making a donation you can go to their website: A.L.E.C.A.

Unfortunately many of these dogs die in the line of duty but they are all given the same respect at burial that a fallen officer would recieve. Wesley Bolin Plaza in Phoenix, Arizona has set aside an area called the Arizona K-9 Police Memorial for these wonderful animals.