DOG on duty

BY SUE STAFFORD

Hi, my name is K-9 Copper and I assist the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) in finding people — even some who aren’t happy when I find them.

I have the best job in the world (for a dog). I have my own heavy duty pickup truck with my name on it and big lettering to let you know this is my truck. I have my own personal driver, Deputy Donny Patterson, who lives with me and his other dog, K-9 Bloodhound Dani, who retired from Riverside, California, and is my playmate at home (Donny’s place).

When I get home from work (we do four days on, four days off), I tell Dani about my day, whether it’s visiting with school children and the public, ongoing training (I have to do 16 hours a month to keep me sharp), finding a lost human, and sometimes I track the bad guys.

When I find someone, I jump up and put my paws on their chest and lick their face. One man with dementia issues, who I’ve found three times, doesn’t like my licking so the third time I tracked him he ran out of the woods toward Donny before I could get to him and lick.

I am a 5-year-old bloodhound (if you can’t tell it from my photos) who was donated to the DCSO by Bob Cameron of Redmond, a long-time law enforcement bloodhound handler and trainer. I was just a 4-month-old pup and Bob provided lots of tips on training me.

My mom and dad live in Chowchilla, California at the Tamaron Ranch Bloodhound Kennels. They say I was the “runt” of the litter, whatever that means. It might have to do with the fact that I weigh 76 pounds, mom was 130 pounds, and dad tipped the scale at 170 pounds. I’m a good four inches shorter than them, too, but Donny says I’m just right. When I was in California getting certified, we visited the fam.

Donny feeds me prescription-based hydrolyzed kibble dog food to keep several allergies in check. My long droopy ears are prone to infections because it’s hard for the air to get in there. He limits my treats, but occasionally I discover some frozen steak in my bowl.

My tracking abilities are phenomenal, if I do say so myself. My nose goes “hard to ground” when I am tracking, and I’m told I have really strong scent discrimination that keeps me from following the wrong scent. I don’t know about all those fancy terms. I just know I love playing hide and seek games and I generally win. I also get to socialize a lot with the public. Everybody wants to see me, not dad. He’s always wanting to pull me away from the park when I just want to sniff. The coolest thing I do is bay when I pick up a scent and am on the trail.

Donny said, “The most rewarding part of my career is raising and training Copper.” He hopes to adopt me when I retire after seven to 10 years of service.

Dr. Colby Webb, originally from Central Oregon, is a captain in Riverside, California and was responsible for introducing bloodhounds to West Coast law enforcement. She was involved in some of my initial training. I was able to track her twins and I could discern one from the other while tracking them.

Being certified by the National Police Bloodhound Association (NPBA) is essential so that the work I do is admissible in court or other legal proceedings. The certification test is tough, and I have to do it every year! Master trainers put me through my paces in all kinds of challenging environments. Here in Central Oregon, our dusty conditions are tough on my sensitive nose when I sniff.

Donny says I’m a pillar for training for national certification, and since I’ve been around (the only bloodhound in Oregon) two other sheriff departments now have a bloodhound in their office — Baker County and Grants Pass.

Before I got certified, Donny and I hung out at the Sisters sheriff substation, and I got to walk around town and meet everyone. Now we work out of the Special Services Department at the DCSO in Bend. With 10-hour shifts, I spend a lot of time in the truck. We have four-wheel drive, and the truck is lifted, because 80 percent of areas we cover are National Forest and Bureau of Land Management land with lots of washboard roads (that make me car sick). We carry with us everything we might need including chain saws, fire gear, ropes, throw robes, fluids and snacks, my food, and my special working harness which is sturdier than my “pretty boy” harness for pictures and public gatherings.

Whenever Donny turns on the lights and sirens and assumes his “driving behavior,” or I hear him jingle the harness and leashes, I get very excited because I know we’re going to work.

I’ll let you in on a secret: Even with all the fancy stuff they have for me, including heat sensor equipment which turns on fans, opens windows, and sounds lights and sirens to notify everyone that my truck office is too hot, and my bed and food and water, I’m not really crazy about the truck. Donny can’t figure out how I can jump up on his bed to sleep every night, but he has to lift me into my tall truck. Donny says I show “avoidance behavior” as we approach the truck. I’d rather play hide and seek.

DCSO has 142 Search and Rescue volunteers and Donny and I, and the other four canine units, organize and train them, some of whom also have their own dogs. The other four patrol dogs are Malinois and Dutch shepherds and they use air scent to perform their duties.

One of my abilities that amazes people is the way I can track an individual even without a piece of their clothing. Say someone drops a knife, or a pen, or some small object. Donny rubs the item down with sterile gauze, closes the gauze in a plastic bag, and lets it warm up so the scent molecules enlarge. He then opens the bag, I get the scent, and I’m off to track it down. Pretty cool, eh? I once tracked someone from the remains of a half-eaten hamburger, paying no attention to the burger itself. I like it when people pet me but a little goes a long way. I’ll let you know when I’ve had enough. I like getting in the water. You should see all my loose skin fly when I shake the water off! I don’t like most other dogs, except Dani, so if you come across me with your dog, please be sure they are leashed. Donny says his favorite thing about me is my amazing bloodhound ability. I guess I’m pretty special.