Thursday evening at the regular meeting of American Legion Post 9, Otero County Undersheriff Dave Gaskill demonstrated why a strong canine unit benefits the sheriff's department.
Gaskill is a strong proponent of the use of dogs in police work. The dogs with which he participates in training are not vicious. They are very even-tempered, intelligent dogs that adhere strictly to their training, which is drug-sniffing or other olfactory duties, or officer protection. Gaskill made his point well by illustrating how much more quickly and more efficiently dogs can check out school lockers. If 100 lockers are to be checked, one man and a dog can check the same number of lockers in five minutes as one man without a dog can check in 1,000 minutes, and the cost is $2 vs $268. Also, only the lockers the dog has located need to be opened, with the permission of the school and by school officials.
He also advocates for a dog with an officer on patrol for safety reasons. Many patrol jobs in the county are done by one deputy, exposing the officer to undue risk. The dog will never attack without being commanded to do so unless the officer is in imminent danger. Gaskill says perpetrators, even armed perpetrators, often surrender when they see a dog with the officer.
The sheriff's department has three dogs now: one new young dog, Max, one five year old dog, Nina, who is getting ready to retire, and one more young dog, Beastie, who is the one who usually goes to programs at schools because she is so gentle.
The breed of dogs used by the department is Belgian Malinois. These dogs are not quite as large as German shepherds, but exhibit energy levels that are among the highest of all dog breeds. They are medium-sized, strong dogs that require consistent obedience training and enjoy being challenged with new tasks. They are very easy to train, due to their high drive for rewards. They are used by the military and by the guards at the White House. Maintaining these dogs costs about $3,000 per year per dog, with veterinarian bills, food and home care.
The officers hid a bait of heroin in the bed of a pickup truck in the parking lot before they brought out the first dog, Nina. She made a quick sweep of the parking lot, then pawed up on the pickup with the bait. She got a quick reward and appeared very happy. Next, the officers hid marijuana baits in one of the lockers of the meeting room before they brought out Beastie, the younger dog. Beastie found the right door quickly and was rewarded with her ball to play with. After the main library closed, one of the officers donned a protective suit and the group ventured into the library to witness a takedown, in which the dog went after the arm holding a weapon. Gaskill says the only time he ever saw a dog attack without a command was when he entered a room in which a perpetrator was hidden behind the door and evidently made a move interpreted by the dog as a threat to him.Gaskill and the sheriff's department, with the help of the American Legion and other organizations, are currently in a drive to raise $10,000 for the canine unit. Gaskill says he would like to put a dog with every officer on patrol.
