INDIANA TOWNSHIP POLICE TO ADD CANINE UNIT

INDIANA TOWNSHIP -- A new four-legged officer will become part of township
police force thanks to one policeman's efforts.

Officer Scott Palmer raised about $32,000, so the board of supervisors
voted unanimously to authorize the implementation of a canine program.

"It's going to be a great program for the community," Palmer said.

The working dog would be trained to patrol and for narcotics detection. On
patrol the animal could search buildings or find missing children or the
elderly. It could be used during high-volume traffic jams also. As a
drug-enforcement tool, the dog will be trained to sniff for narcotics.
However, a major anti-drug job will be to help in the classroom.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has used Fox Chapel's police
dog Keno in the classroom. Palmer said the students' responses to the dog
were positive.

"It's just a whole new aspect to the prime purpose," Palmer said. "In
school, kids just take so well (to the animals)."

Palmer said he will feel safer on patrol with his canine partner, but more
importantly the community will be better served.

"It's definitely a great asset to myself when he's with me," Palmer said.
In addition, though, a patrol dog is "very intimidating, a very calming
factor," he said.

Nobody wants to be bitten by a dog even though many are willing to take on
one, two, even three officers in a fist fight, Palmer said.

Palmer believed in the canine program enough to raise the money for its
start-up. The estimated cost of $25,000 was removed from the 2004 budget as
a low priority. So Palmer went to the community and raised what could
amount to $32,000.

He contacted dog food companies and foundations. Big donations came in from
St. Margaret Foundation, Allegheny County District Attorney's Office,
J.D.'s Pub and Joe DeBaldo, Tom Eichenlaub, Erie Insurance and the McKamish
Foundation. A grant of $7,500 has been requested from state Sen. Jim Ferlo,
D-Pittsburgh.

The money is budgeted to buy and train the dog and officer. A patrol car
must be altered to provide for a caged area to safely transport the dog.
Humans will not be transported in the same area.

As the next step, Palmer will research whether to get a new dog or a one
which had been trained with another officer.

A "fresh dog" would mean Palmer is the first handler. There is one
available from Ross Township, and it is a Belgian Malinois, a small
German-shepherd type similar to Keno. If Palmer goes with this option, both
would go through a lengthy training process.

Going with the previously trained dog could mean a faster acquisition.
There is an animal available in Ohio. Because the dog is trained, there is
a greater chance of success, too. The pair could be on patrol in as little
as four weeks.

Patrolman and patrol dog could be teamed for an average of a decade. It is
a 24-seven pairing, but Palmer is ready for the commitment required by his
new partner. who will live in his house.

"Yes, it's a big responsibility, but that's part of being a handler of a
dog -- whether it's on or off duty," Palmer said.

The young officer, who is getting married in October, said his future wife
is looking forward to a police dog in the family.

"They're trained to be social dogs," Palmer said. "Essentially it's a house
pet when it's off duty."

Only difference is, on command, this family pet responds as a four-legged
police officer.