HERE'S ONE SMART DOG

Algood's new police dog, Jim, has been on the job six weeks and his
detective's nose has already led to arrests in 11 drug-related misdemeanors
and felonies. On one of his first cases, Jim and his handler, Sgt. James
Harris, worked with the Putnam County Sheriff's Dept. in checking out a
suspicious vehicle.

"First the dog 'indicated' that there were drugs in the vehicle," said
Putnam Detective Greg Whittaker.

"That allowed us access to the vehicle. And then, what did the dog
'indicate' inside the car? He froze on a Subway sandwich!" Whittaker laughed.

"That can be really embarrassing when you've got a number of law
enforcement officers right there watching. Many handlers would have called
off their dogs at that point but James knew his animal.

"Sgt. Harris picked up the sandwich and looked between the pieces of bread.
Inside were four ounces of methamphetamine.

"That's a good drug dog!" Whittaker said.

Algood has been working at acquiring a drug dog for nearly 10 months. Last
June a group of business owners collectively donated $3,500 to the police
department to help pay for a K-9 addition to the police force.

Police Chief Bill Davis did his homework and recommended to the City
Council that the town chip in another $3,000 to pay for an especially
well-trained animal.

"Jim's a dual purpose dog," Harris explained.

"He's trained to detect drugs and he's trained to track. That means he's
able to track criminals if we need that or he can also track lost persons,
like school kids or nursing home residents.

"For $5,000 we could have bought a dog trained to detect drugs. For an
additional $1,500, we received this great dog trained to do so much more,"
Harris said.

Harris left Algood last month to go to South Carolina to work with Charlie
Kirchner of Canine Consultants who has trained dogs for the White House and
law enforcement agencies. There James met 'Jim' who had flown over from
Belgium where he had been born.

The two crammed eight weeks worth of training into two. Animal and handler
bonded almost instantly.

"I got to take him back to the hotel with me the second night," Harris said.

And have the two become "Big Jim" and "Little Jim"?

Harris almost smiled.

"People usually call me James," he said.

For two weeks the two were inseparable. They trained every day and many
nights, with Harris learning a few German and Dutch words so he could give
orders in the only language Jim knew at that time.

"He knows we're working when I give him orders in German," Harris said.

When the two are at play, the language tends to be English.

And play is the name of the game.

"These dogs live to play," said Greg Whittaker who has been a dog handler
himself.

"They don't bite or attack because they're aggressive. It's because they've
learned to do those things through games. A well-trained dog will go on the
attack and 'bite' on command.

"But when the exercise is through and his handler gives him the okay, then
that dog will wag his tail and will let the person he's just attacked pet
him and praise him."

Jim's favorite toy is a bright orange plastic cone that Harris carries in a
holster at his side. When the two-year-old, all-black German Shepherd sees
the orange tip of the toy, he knows he's in for a good time.

As a two-year-old, Jim is still pretty young and sometimes his puppyhood is
close to the surface. When Sgt. Harris was showing his dog's talents to
this reporter and the paper's photographer, Jim began to see that this
wasn't quite a work situation nor was it, yet, a play situation.

He whimpered a few times to let his boss know that he had spotted the
orange toy on the ground and was ready to capture it.

But the grownups were taking just a little too much time talking in English.

"Just watch," Harris said confidently.

"He won't move until I give him the ..." and with a lunge Jim leaped past
his handler and triumphantly grabbed the orange toy.

Harris grinned.

"He's still pretty young," he said.

But Greg Whittaker is impressed with the two as a team.

"When Jim is working, he's working. When he's playing, he's playing," he said.

"I'm so impressed with the way they work together. The handler lets his dog
do his job. They're a good team."

And having the extra drug dog is good for the county.

"Algood's been great to us. They show right up to assist us no matter what
time of day. I guess they're paying us back for the times we've helped
them," he said.

For years officers from the Putnam Sheriff's Dept. and the Cookeville
Police Dept. have come to Algood's aid on drug-related cases. Harris is
indeed eager to pay them for their help.

"They were so helpful to us when we didn't have a K-9 unit. We want to
return the favor as much as possible," he said.

So James and Jim spend their days together. And at night Jim goes home with
James and settles down in his own yard and his own doghouse.

"He's ready, as I am, to go home at the end of the day. We spend our days
together in that car. And on our days off, we train," Harris said.

Sometimes James even lets Jim into the big house to play with Harris's
other dogs and his family.

And sometimes Harris will be doing things around the house when he spots
his wife, Lisa, doing her own bonding with Jim.

"I'll catch her feeding him and throwing balls for him to chase," he said.

"She worries about us both."

Greg Whittaker appreciates the effort, on and off the job, that has made
the two into a well-trained team waiting in the wings to help with the
ever-growing drug problem in Putnam County.

"There's a lot more to having a K-9 unit than just putting a dog in a car
and driving him around," he said.