DOG'S DEATH STRAINS PASS DRUG PATROL

CHP: One Indio Canine Will Handle A Vast Area -- From Beaumont To Arizona
And To Calexico.

BEAUMONT - California Highway Patrol officials in the San Gorgonio Pass say
they do not know whether Zorba -- the drug-sniffing police dog -- will be
replaced after the animal died recently.

The death of the dog means it will be up to an Indio-based CHP canine to
provide help to Pass-area CHP officers.

Zorba died Feb. 5, ending a three-year career that saw the Belgian Malinois
find about 120 pounds of marijuana, five pounds of methamphetamine and five
kilos of cocaine.

"Zorba was always a pleasure," said Officer Steve Feaster, who handled the
canine for the past three years. "There are some dogs you can't even pet."

Since the CHP's four-dog team started in August, Feaster estimated 200
pounds of marijuana and 80 pounds of cocaine had been seized.

Authorities had the team patrolling Interstate 10, Highway 111, Interstate
8 and Highway 86 searching for drug couriers and responding to other
emergencies.

The El Centro and Blythe stations -- which each lost dogs in the past four
months -- will get new animals and begin training in March.

Now with Zorba gone, one dog must cover a much bigger area -- from the Pass
east to the Arizona border and south to Calexico.

"On any given occasion if we need a canine it's just a phone call away,"
said Capt. Bob Clark of the San Gorgonio station. If the Indio-based dog is
not available, he said, dogs from the San Bernardino area would respond if
needed.

Clark said the canines are assigned at the division level and can take up
to six months to arrive. All dogs and their handlers must attend a training
academy near Sacramento. The dogs can cost up to $6,000.

"It's all dependent on resources and demand -- what community needs that
service the most," Clark said Thursday by phone.

Clark said he does not know whether Zorba will be replaced.

Feaster knew something was wrong when he couldn't see his partner, a hyper
but lovable animal, in her usual backyard spot.

A local veterinarian told Feaster that Zorba's stomach had flipped 180
degrees, causing severe bloating that pressed against a vein in her heart.

Now Feaster, 50, will have to get used to patrolling alone.

"It's very lonely," Feaster said during a recent interview. "You can't help
but become attached."

Although Feaster said Zorba never bit anyone outside of training, one
agitated motorist walked toward the patrol car after a short pursuit.

All Feaster had to do was hit the button on his belt that opens the door
holding Zorba.

"She had a great tendency to de-escalate the situation," he said. "It was
all 'yes sirs' and 'no sirs' from then on."