MANORS RETIRES DRUG DOG

In 11 Years, Rocky Aided In 600 Arrests

When one of the most productive members of the Wilton Manors Police
Department retired recently, he didn't walk away with a hefty pension
or a gold watch. But that's OK -- all he ever wanted was his tennis
ball.

Rocky, the department's 65-pound Belgian malinois, was one of the
first passive drug dogs in the state, meaning when he smelled drugs he
simply sat down rather than scratch and bark like crazy.

After Rocky joined the force in 1993, other Broward County departments
noted his success and tried to emulate it. Today, there are more than
80 passive drug dogs in the county, according to Rocky's handler,
Officer Oscar Gonzalez.

"It didn't hurt that on week one, Rocky found $26,000" in drug money,
said Ted Daus, a drug-trafficking unit prosecutor. "People in places
like Coral Springs and Sunrise were saying if he can find $26,000 in
Wilton Manors, what can Rocky do for me?"

During his 11-year career, Rocky discovered about about 45 pounds of
cocaine; 65 pounds of marijuana; 2 kilos of heroine; and $4 million in
cash, Gonzalez said. Rocky's work led to more than 600 arrests.

Gonzalez retired the dog on Dec. 31, but at the City Commission
meeting where he was honored last month, Gonzalez said Rocky's nose is
still incredible and his puppy streak is still alive.

"His reward is his tennis ball," Gonzalez said. "He goes bonkers for
the tennis ball. His teeth will still chatter after all these years."

Sgt. Shawn Chadwick said the officers used to hang a tennis ball from
the ceiling in the police station so they could watch Rocky leap to
reach it.

"That dog would sky," Chadwick said. "On the days he couldn't get it,
he would get so mad."

Daus said the dog's simple nature is what makes him such a good
tool.

"They have no incentive to lie," Daus said. "They just do what they're
taught to do."

Gonzalez pitched the idea of bringing a passive drug dog to Wilton
Manors back in the early 1990s because he had been trained to use them
in the Air Force.

Defense attorneys often tried to argue that a police officer needed
probable cause before bringing in a dog to search a car or a person,
but just last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police dogs can
sniff the outside of a car after a lawful traffic stop.

Gonzalez said that's all the access Rocky needs.

"As long as the odor is there, he'll be able to sniff it," Gonzalez
said.

About a year ago, Gonzalez walked Rocky around the outside of five
houses in Hollywood where investigators suspected people were growing
marijuana. Rocky smelled drugs in all of them, enabling the police to
get search warrants for the houses. He also gave Gonzalez a signal on
a SUV that was parked outside one of the houses. Inside, police found
five safes filled with $2.4 million.

Since Rocky was replaced by a dog named Rasta, his days are much less
intense. Mostly, he hangs out at Gonzalez's home in Plantation and
plays with Gonzalez's son and twin babies.

"Rocky's got the chillin' life," Gonzalez's wife, Julie, said. "He
relaxes a lot, eats, sleeps. Relaxes a lot, eats, sleeps."