EX-CHP OFFICER WINS SUIT

Xaro started howling and jumping around when Sean McEnulty asked if he
wanted to "go to work" Thursday, bumping a living room table and sending a
glass of juice spilling over onto the rug.

"Work" for the German shepherd once meant finding drugs, and he helped make
more than 100 major drug seizures for the California Highway Patrol. The
word is still a cue to swing into action.

But the 8-year-old German shepherd doesn't know the difference between work
and play. McEnulty appeased the dog's frenzy Thursday with some light fetch
in the back yard.

"He's just turned into a house dog," McEnulty said.

Both Xaro and former officer McEnulty were forced to retire from the CHP by
an accident that came while they were on duty slowing traffic on a flooded
road. Both suffer from ongoing medical problems.

A civil suit by McEnulty resulted in a Superior Court jury awarding him $1.6
million Thursday for his injuries, said his attorney, Milt Younger.

McEnulty and Xaro worked side-by-side for four years as specialized drug
officers, being called to vehicle stops where drugs were suspected and
working on drug-busting task forces. Xaro could sniff out hidden contraband.

"I know what it (drug use) is doing to our society," said McEnulty, 39.
"Having three sons, I had a lot of motivation to stop drug use."

The two also did many school presentations.

McEnulty and Xaro were parked on the shoulder of Highway 166 on Feb. 17,
1997, with emergency lights flashing. The driver of a Cox Petroleum
Transport truck was going too fast for conditions, Younger said. It
jackknifed and hit the patrol car.

A defense attorney could not be reached.

McEnulty, a 12-year CHP veteran, was knocked unconscious and suffered neck,
back and shoulder injuries.

He still suffers pain every day. McEnulty and Xaro play a bit in the back
yard, but they have to take it easy to avoid further injuring the dog's back.

"If he does any big running, and it breaks loose in his back, they may have
to put him asleep," McEnulty said.

McEnulty is taking courses at Bakersfield College to get a teaching
certificate and teach high school math. But a teaching job is years away,
and he doesn't know what medical problems may lie ahead.

"There's a lot of uncertainty," McEnulty said. "I hope for the best and pray
for the best, but I know in the back of my mind I have to plan for what-if."