TRAINING IS KEY FOR LOCAL OFFICERS AND K-9 PARTNERS

"Want to go find some dope?!"

That catch phrase send dogs like Lakkie and Taco into a frenzy. The
two canines, or K-9s, are partners to K-9 Officers Steve Boroff and
Rob Black, respectively, of the Van Wert City Police Department (VWPD).

K-9s were first introduced to the VWPD in 1981 when current Lt. Tom
Bartz received "Bismark" as a K-9 partner. Bismark served the
department from October 11, 1981 to June 2, 1984.

Black got Taco in October of 2005 and started him on the road in
December 2005. Lakkie was picked up from the kennel by Boroff in
December of 2005 and was started on the road February 2006.

Even though they may not realize it, the K-9s have a serious job to
do. Lakkie and Taco have the responsibility of finding narcotics,
runaways and fleeing suspects and are also Life Flight certified. To
them, it's a game where they please their handler and get a reward
they so eagerly look forward too. But just what is that reward?

"They'll do anything in the world for a tennis ball," said Boroff.
"That ball is their world."

Lakkie and Taco are a breed called Belgian Malinois and came from
Vohne Liche Kennels, Inc. in Denver, Indiana, but are originally from
Holland. Because they received their training in Holland, most of the
commands they know are in Dutch.

Boroff and Black said they could have switched to English commands,
but using Dutch can be convenient because most people don't know what
they are saying.

The dogs come to the kennel in Indiana knowing commands for things
like sit, stay, heel, eat, search, track, guard, bite and apprehend.

Other ones, like catch phrases of "We're going to find some dope" or
"Let's find the bad guy" are picked up as they spend time with their
English-speaking handlers.

"They go out of their minds and start barking and yapping," said
Black. "Taco, you tell him at the end of the shift 'It's time to go
home' and he knows. They catch on to catch phrases you use."

Both dogs are passive-alert dogs, meaning they sit or freeze once
they've found what they were looking for instead of barking,
scratching or biting at whatever it is.

Boroff and Black said this type of dog is new to the department and
alleviates the risk of property damage. It can also can be a tactical
advantage because the dog is less likely to give the officer's
position away.

To stay on top of their game, Boroff and Black train with the dogs
once a week for several hours. Officers Adam Wehage and Cory Reindel
often assist with the training sessions, volunteering as the "bad
guys." All of the extra time they put in is on their own personal
time. For Tuesday's training session, Boroff was just coming off his
shift and it was Black's "day off."

"You will hear different arguments about training regiments," said
Boroff. "Our take is the more we do it, the better the dogs will be.
We've been entrusted with these dogs. We wouldn't be doing our job
unless we made sure they were in peak condition as far as training is
concerned."

Black added that the city of Van Wert paid about $12,000 to $13,000
for each dog and their handler's training. Boroff and Black each
attend a five week handler course at the kennel before taking their
dogs out on the road.

Boroff said the dogs are their best friends, but when it comes right
down to it, they are a tool. He said the first year Lakkie and Taco
were on the job, the drug arrests tripled.

"A big misconception with police dogs is that they are some kind of
vicious attack dog. That's really not the case at all," said Boroff.
"They are there for the community. These are our dogs, but they belong
to every citizen in the city of Van Wert."

The dogs can detect marijuana, cocaine, meth, crack, heroine and all
variants of those drugs when humans can't. Their powerful sense of
smell can even detect residual odors from drugs that were in a car or
house up to several months beforehand.

"It's so fun working with these dogs, it's a gratifying feeling," said
Black. "And gratifying to know that you make that much difference in
the community also."

The dogs will continue working until they are around nine years old.
Boroff and Black said the breed is considered geriatric at a much
younger age than other dogs but they don't have some of the other
health issues of other dogs like hip problems found in German
Shepherds. The two officers will have the responsibility of knowing
when it's time to retire the dogs. Upon retirement, both officers said
they will keep their respective dogs.

"I don't know of any handler who wouldn't," said Black. "They are as
much of a part of our family as they are a partner."