A different kind of K-9 story, now at Dogstuff

The Israeli Defense Forces have the only K-9 special forces unit in the world. After retirement, many of their dogs go on to work with police departments, including some in the United States.

Miky, who sniffed out explosives in Israel, is now working as a police dog with the Helena, Montana department. There was only one problem when Miky came to Montana — he was trained in Hebrew, and didn’t understand English commands.

A local rabbi stepped in to help and taught Sgt. John Fosket, Miky’s partner, how to pronounce the unfamiliar words. “Once I learned the correct Hebrew commands, our relationship changed and our bond intensified,” Sgt. Fosket said. The team were even called in by the Secret Service on a recent presidential visit.

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The Miami Herald reports that two Broward County, FL police dogs have received newly-designed bulletproof vests to protect them on the job.

A Cooper City teen researched vests after a police dog was shot and killed last year. He persuaded a vest manufacturer to customize a lightweight one for dogs, and persuaded two law-enforcement support organizations to help pay for the new design.

While bulletproof vests for dogs aren’t new, they are heavy, and dogs often don’t wear them in hot weather. The new, lighter design should help.

Police dog Bear during a calmer moment

Well, not exactly. But Bear, the police dog who ran away from his handler’s Chicago home during a storm last week, had done it before.

When Bear was about a year old, just prior to another storm, he was similarly frightened and climbed the fence “like a monkey.” “I never saw a dog do that,” said handler Rick King.

[I have. The dogs I grew up with were German Shepherd mixes, and they routinely climbed fences that were in their way.]

King put in a higher fence after Bear’s last escape; now he’s searching for one that’s higher yet. Good luck with that.

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Even highly trained police dogs are still creatures of instinct. When Chicago K-9 unit member Bear was outside last Wednesday attending to nature’s call, he was startled by another part of nature: a sudden clap of thunder. Bear jumped the fence and took off.

His handler, Rick King, spent four sleepless days and nights following up on reports of missing dogs. “It’s like your child. Animal lovers will know what I’m talking about,” he said.

Fortunately, on Sunday Bear was spotted outside a hardware store by a man who recognized him from news reports. A scan of Bear’s microchip confirmed his identity. Other than being “a little shaggy and a little dirty,” according to King, Bear is doing fine.

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In the medical sense, that is. A Virginia vet recently did her annual free check of all the working and therapy dogs in the area.

You know, of course, that dogs have three eyelids. What else did she see? Turns out there’s poetry in the science, hidden in those eyes.

The Washington Post’s John Kelly explains.

Officer Wood and Buck demonstrate the technique

Some years ago, as my mother was out walking her dachshund, she fell and dislocated her shoulder. A neighbor called 911, but Dobie wouldn’t let anyone near my mom. They had to call me to come and get Dobie away from her so they could take her to the hospital.

If a little dachshund could keep first responders at bay, imagine what could happen if a K-9 handler is hurt and his dog is protecting him. With that in mind, a group of firefighters in upstate New York learned how to handle a K-9 dog if they are responding to a scene where the handler is injured.

The solution is, happily, a simple one. K-9 dogs are trained to latch onto a padded sleeve worn on the arm. Once they’ve grabbed it, a responder can leash the dog, take the sleeve off, and leave it in the dog’s jaws while moving the animal out of the way.