Good Boy, K9 Billy Karen Sturtevant

Geno and Billy

Good boy, K9 Billy

Karen Sturtevant

In my next life, I would like to come back as the person responsible for choosing silly holidays in which to celebrate. Already extensive, the list includes Penguin Awareness Day (January 20), Work Naked Day (February 4), Corn on the Cob Day (June 11), and let’s not forget the international powerhouse on February 23: Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. It seems if you can think it, it can be celebrated. When January 9 arrived, my phone informed me it was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. I took to social media to post my gratitude for those dedicated to protect and serve. It was the least I could do given the current state of affairs and debate on policing in America.

In the winter of 2019, I met Burlington Police Corporal Euguene Baccaglini and K9 Billy, fresh from patrol school. The mission was to tag along for a ride and report my adventures. I even got previous permission to engage the lights and sirens. (My inner child jumped up and down!) The air was freezing, the evening quiet. The lull in crime allotted me the time to learn about the furry face in Summer 2022

the custom-fitted backseat. Baccaglini and K9 Billy had been a team for only a short time. As the years went by, I often wondered about Billy. When Covid restrictions lifted, I caught up with them in hopes of hearing and sharing uplifting stories. If human officers could have an appreciation day, I hoped to give this special canine his. The update didn’t disappoint.

Meet K9 Billy

K9 Billy (formerly Bully), a fiveyear-old purebred German shepherd, was donated to the Burlington Police Department in 2019 at two years of age. Considered dual-purpose, Burlington's top dog is certified by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council in patrol functions (officer/ handler protection, criminal apprehension, tracking, evidence recovery, building searches) and drug detection. Credential recertification is performed each year at the Vermont Police Canine Academy including a mile and a half outdoor trek to find the decoy (subject) in two hours or less. The team has accomplished this in as little as 20 minutes.

Training

Police dogs are asked to perform a multitude of tasks to assist law enforcement. Keeping Billy in a healthy state of brain and body is essential to achieving this goal. German shepherds are extremely intelligent dogs. An idle canine with a sharp mind can lead to problems. Cognizant of this, working sessions are done each day. At shift’s end, Baccaglini might ask a coworker to throw an object in tall grass. Billy will then be sent in to find it. At the waterfront, Baccaglini has requested that a jogger take Billy’s beloved tug toy and drop it along her route. Billy would then be tasked to ignore the busyness of people and other distractions and find the toy. Navigating an obstacle course or searching a residence are other methods to keep him in tip-top shape.

“As with real-world scenarios, you don’t know what’s going to happen until it happens. So, it’s important to have a plan B,” comments Baccaglini. “People can shift their attention to a different priority, it’s not so easy for a dog to do that. In training, we try to show the dog as many pictures of a scenario as we can.”

The K9 units in Vermont are a tightknit bunch that often train together. "We all know each other's dogs and they all have issues. By problem-solving and adding scenarios, we try and Summer 2022 correct those issues." According to the Vermont Police Canine Association, Vermont has 49 active K9 teams. The most commonly used breeds for law enforcement work are the German shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Dutch shepherd, Bloodhound, and Labrador retriever. The daily attention given to these specialized canines is commendable. The dogs live with their handlers during their active duty and often after retirement.

A working dog

When I asked what a typical shift with a police dog entailed, I got the same look I always get when I ask an unanswerable question. In policing, there is no typical. Bacccaglini works the night shift and did his best to articulate an answer.

They are together 24/7. Billy’s transition from determined pup to relaxed house dog is seamless. This stealthy canine knows it’s time to work when his harness gets fitted and his handler attaches the leash. Billy is most content when he has a job to do.

Billy's keen nose was put to the test on a windy day in downtown Burlington after a bank robbery had taken

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place. With onlookers and dozens of people walking around the area contaminating the scene, the challenge was immense. "It couldn't have been a worse day situationally to do a track. Although we had a general idea of where he went, we weren’t able to find him. Sometimes, the odds are against us.”

As the department has seen an increase in commercial burglaries and burglaries in general, the duo has been called to perform numerous building searches for suspects. Billy's familiarity with his human coworkers became apparent when he was conducting a search of a church after such a break-in. Billy, without looking up at faces, was focused on making his way through the building zipping among several police officers. In the foyer, an employee of the church walked in. Sensing a new person, Billy immediately tensed, staring at him, alerting his handler to this potential danger. Billy, like most working dogs, is comfortable around already-recognized people and instinctually cautious with those who are unknown.

Other nights may be quieter for Billy as he sits or naps waiting for his next objective. One of his favor-

Dogs will be dogs

Teaching sessions are done to reinforce Billy’s knowledge. But, sometimes this badge-wearing dog is just like any other dog. Once, while assisting with a traffic stop, Billy was called in to search a vehicle. “When he’s about to work he gets amped up and starts leaking energy,” said Baccaglini. "Just as I'm hooking the leash and taking him out of the car, a rabbit bolts from ten feet away into the bushes. Now, he's locked on to the rabbit." The focus on the assignment is suddenly gone. Billy's reactions are "both simultaneously hilarious and frustrating. We have our limitations.” Small, fast-moving critters, even for police dogs, are hard to resist. The search, completed after a time of refocusing, was successful. The rabbit made a getaway.

A memorable evening

On March 25, 2020, Billy and his partner were called to assist Shelburne Police in the case of a missing elderly man in an altered mental state. Without shoes or a coat, the man wandered from his residence into the cold winter night. Using a scented object, Billy got to work. Tracking is difficult in the best of circumstances. Tracking on different terrain surfaces poses unique challenges. Asking Billy to work on snow and ice was a demanding task.

The officers followed Billy approximately half a mile from the residence to a driveway lined with footprints when the dog suddenly stopped. "He does a 90-degree turn, and in the back of my mind I keep hearing the head trainer say, 'Trust your Dog. Trust your dog.’”

The obvious path was leading to and beyond the driveway. Baccaglini, thinking that Billy’s lure to the wooded area was due to the scents and sounds of nocturnal animals, yielded the urge to redirect. Baccaglini put his trust in his partner. Approximately 50 yards from the spot where Billy was alerting, barefoot impressions, shaped by melted ice, were visible. Following that trail lead them to the 79-year-old man semi-conscious in the early stages of hyperthermia.

Billy’s discovery can be attributed to air-scenting. Typically, a dog’s nose is 100,000 times more sensitive than a human’s. In addition, the section of a dog’s brain responsible for processing smells is seven times larger than ours. “The man was there long Summer 2022

Baccagli and Billy at graduation

enough so his odor was pooling. The dog was keying in on that. This was the first instance where I had seen his proximately alert where he knows he’s found somebody, he can’t see them so basically he just stops and he waits. He knows he’s on top of somebody, he just doesn’t know exactly where they are.”

Thanks in part to Billy’s sharp nose and his partner’s surrender of trust, the gentleman received timely medical care and made a full recovery. This accomplishment earned the team the 2020 Life Saving Award presented by the Vermont Police Canine Association.

Dog days

Each day calls for creative outlets: finding coins in the grass, rummaging through a car for narcotics, or playing with coworkers at the police station. Having been a team for a few years, Billy and Baccaglini can now read each other. “He keys in on situations, basically my energy. The dog Summer 2022 feeds off me. There’s the cliché that the energy runs up and down the leash. He can sense the stress in my voice and that puts him on an alert, more of a what’s happening around him.” Always diligent, this canine is watching and learning.

Billy's know-how isn't limited to groundwork. He and Baccaglini have flown in a helicopter and ridden on a boat in preparedness for future excursions. “Other than being an outwardly fun training day, it opens up opportunities for different types of deployments. If we had somebody who was a lost hiker, are we going to hike four miles to a point last seen or can we get dropped off and save that energy for the actual search?" A one-mile hike for a person equates to three or four miles for a dog. Getting Billy accustomed to various modes of transportation helps him become comfortable in new environments. While cruising on the water, Baccaglini comments, “Once we got moving, he

was sticking his nose into the wind. He didn’t seem too concerned.” With a combination of beauty and smarts, this handsome canine boy takes every test in stride.

To meet Billy, one immediately senses his easy-going manner. Baccaglini cautions, “Always ask,” before approaching and touching any dog. During the summer, the team spends time at Camp Paw Paw, a program for kids who love animals, staffed by the Chittenden County Humane Society. Presenting the functions of a police dog, Baccaglini encourages participants to interact with and pet Billy. "He seems to show a difference between adults and kids and I think that's because of how I've handled him in public. He is a very social dog." Keeping a connection to the community, the team has a steady schedule of public events. Billy loves being the center of attention.

Although Billy may look like a cuddly pup, he is trained to be aggressive when needed. He is expected to protect Baccaglini and will do so when called upon. "For a working dog, you want them to have a little edginess to them. You don't want them too friendly because when you call on them to be aggressive if they don't have it in the back of their mind, that's when the dog can be more of a liability than an asset." Billy has mastered how to perform based on the circumstance.

What’s next?

Corporal Baccaglini’s plan is simple: “Keeping up with our certifications and continuing to identify situations where he's not super confident and then creating training scenarios to build up that part of his understanding of what's being asked of him." Problem-solving is done daily. "It's amusing to go into a room with the intent to clear it and he starts doing a drug search or asking him to do a drug search and he's barking at everyone in the room." Giving Billy a clear picture of what is being asked of him is an ongoing challenge. "It has been very entertaining." Police dogs bring a revered level of expertise to law enforcement. Their inexplicable ability to learn and please their handlers is unmatched. Dogs are protectors, helpers, and secret keepers. Police dogs are extraordinary. With Billy's support system, he continues to advance in discipline and technique. Under the tough-guy exterior, he's a big softy who likes scratches behind the ears and rubs on his belly. His four-legged heroism and ongoing devotion are two reasons why K9 Billy is a shining example of a professional police canine and why dogs really are our best friends.