The North Huntingdon Police Department has a new K-9, one that loves to work ferreting out crime, according to its handler.
“He loves to find drugs and bad guys. We do a lot of drug searches,” said Sgt. Kari Bauer of her newest police dog, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois/German shepherd mix named Ceco.
Bauer — one of the township police department’s three police dog handlers — acquired the Czech Republic-born, 65-pound Ceco in December. Her former police dog, a German shepherd named Zargo with whom she worked for eight years, died last November.
“They were bred to work,” Bauer said of the Belgian Malinois breed.
Bauer brought Ceco along Friday to speak to a group of second-grade students in Allyson DeMonte’s classroom at Norwin’s Hahntown Elementary School. Bauer explained that Ceco is trained to apprehend suspects and sniff out drugs and other evidence.
She told them the dog’s sense of smell is 500 times more sensitive than a human’s. That sense also can help find people who are lost or hiding from police.
The K-9 is trained not to bite children, Bauer said.
“The bad guy — he is fair game.”
When selecting a dog for K-9 duty, Bauer said she wants one with a high drive. She said she has had K-9s with traits that are not so desirable, such as a dog that is aggressive with other dogs.
“I chose to keep him. I’ve decided to make it work,” said Bauer, who has been a K-9 officer for more than two decades. “I have a will in me that it is going to work out. The dog is going to be as good as the handler.”
Before Ceco started with Bauer in December, she underwent training with the dog for a week to earn certification in patrol duties and narcotics detection.
Bauer said she can let Ceco off-leash to pursue a suspect and has the ability to get him to return if necessary — such as avoiding a vehicle — by triggering a light shock through a collar around his neck.
In addition to the initial training, Bauer said she also does maintenance training with the dog for at least four hours every week.
“He has to practice every day,” Bauer said.
One of those practice sessions occurred this week in Penn Township, where the pair performed a building search and a takedown of a decoy “suspect” fleeing a traffic stop.
“They are a ‘fur missile’ when chasing a suspect,” Bauer said.
When Ceco is not working, Bauer said he loves to play with a rubber ball and drag around a 30-foot drainage pipe in her backyard.
“He has a lot of energy, more energy than the German shepherd,” Bauer said.
