CHRISTINE BOYD

This Madison Police Officer And Her Canine Partner Arno Find Drugs And
Evidence, Track Suspects And Nab Criminals

A distraught man with access to knives had barricaded himself inside a
home and was threatening to set the place afire and kill himself.

That's when the Madison Police called on Officer Christine Boyd and
her partner - a 65-pound Dutch shepherd named Arno.

"I've needed to kiss him goodbye a couple of times," Boyd said,
recalling the feeling of letting Arno enter the house.

But as usual, Arno defused the dangerous situation, intimidating the
man into a bedroom and into the custody of officers.

"He's very brave," Boyd said. "Once he's been given a command to
apprehend somebody, he doesn't stop until I tell him to stop."

Boyd and Arno have been together for five years finding drugs and
evidence, tracking suspects, searching buildings and nabbing criminals
with the Dane County Narcotics and Gangs Task Force.

And as the lone canine unit in the Madison Police Department, Boyd is
on call 24-7 and often finds herself in the middle of drama.

"As I'm positioned behind canine Arno's leash, he often pulls me into
dangerous situations," she said. "We're often in the lead in tracking
potentially armed suspects, whether tracking or building searches."

It's not the career Boyd envisioned as a child born in Windsor,
Ontario, and raised in a large family in Plymouth, Mich., near Ann
Arbor.

"I never, ever, thought about being a police officer," she
said.

The second-oldest of nine children, Boyd has fond memories and a dry
sense of humor about her big family.

"The first thing that comes to mind is one bathroom," she said with a
smile.

Growing up, Boyd excelled in sports and school. She played high school
softball, field hockey, tennis and volleyball, and won letters in the
latter three sports at Eastern Michigan University.

While earning her degree, she worked with people with emotional
illnesses at Mercywood Hospital in Ann Arbor. And after finishing
school, she taught and coached at Green Hills prep school in that city.

In 1988, Boyd moved to Madison for a relationship and landed a job as
a coach and associate athletic director at Edgewood College.

Eventually, she found herself ready for a change and higher income,
and after doing police ride-alongs and talking to officers about their
work, sought to become a Madison police officer.

"To my surprise, I made it through the process," she said of her
becoming an officer in 1991.

And she hasn't regretted it, despite the inherent dangers.

"You have to be aggressive and assertive at times," she said. "I knew
I could do that part. But she stressed, "I've never had to use a gun
in any situation."

Boyd, who has always loved animals, was eventually intrigued by an
opening for a canine handler in the drug and gang task force, and was
paired with Arno in 1998.

Although Arno was pre-trained - he was born in the Netherlands and
answers some commands in Dutch - Boyd has honed his skills and is
still amazed at how the dog's presence can defuse a situation.

At "hot" calls, where people can be yelling and screaming, Boyd and
Arno will arrive "and the dog will bark and the whole atmosphere
changes," she said.

Boyd, who has used Arno to find marijuana, cocaine, methamphetimine
and heroin, handguns and cell phones, has won awards in 2001 and 2002
from the state Law Enforcement K-9 Handlers Association.

Sgt. Dave McCaw, Boyd's supervisor, said she draws upon her athletic
and education backgrounds and uses her love of animals and compassion
to deftly handle the demanding roles of being the lone canine unit and
doing drug work.

"I think she's the highest caliber officer we have," McCaw
said.

In a few years, Arno will retire and become Boyd's full-time pet. She
hopes to help create and advise a canine patrol unit in the department.

Asked to sum up her career choice, which can put her in harm's way,
she said, "In sports, there's an adrenaline rush. You either want the
ball to come to you or you don't. I always want it to come to me."

[sidebar]

PROFILE: CHRISTINE BOYD

* Job: Police Officer/Canine handler, assigned to the Dane County Narcotics
and Gangs Task Force with K-9 partner, Arno.

* Age: 46.

* Family: Committed partnership with Barb Carey, retired MPD police officer.

* Hobbies: Sports, fishing and travel.

* The best part of my job is: My current assignment as a task force
officer. It has afforded me the opportunity to work with a team of
officers that work very well together and respect each other. I feel
lucky and proud to be a part of such a fine group.

* The worst part of my job: Being on call all the time when I'm off
duty because we are the only canine team the city currently has.

* If I could change one thing in Madison, it would be: I would add a
complete canine unit to the city of Madison Police Department.

* The person I most admire is: My brother, John, because of all the
people I know he is the most genuine, caring and giving person to
family and friends.

* My pet peeve is: When I'm driving to get somewhere on duty and the
car ahead recognizes my unmarked squad and begins driving below the
speed limit.

* My partner thinks I'm: Hard-working and honest.

* Just when I thought I knew it all: I found out I was correct again.
(My friends will find this funny; they tell me I always think I'm right.)

* Over the years, I've become: More tolerant in general.

* If I could convince people of one thing, it would be: All people
deserve to be treated with respect.

* I'm most proud of: Organizing Wisconsin athletes to attend the Gay
Games in New York City in 1994. I spearheaded the development of a
newsletter, solicited sponsors, raised funds, provided warm-ups, and
made available financial assistance for those in need.