Police dogs show off training, value


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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Police have used dogs to help them enforce the law for hundreds of years.

The Unified Police Department and several other agencies showed off the skills of their K9s Thursday night.

The K9s tackle a number of jobs.

“They are absolutely critical,” Lt. Jake Peterson with Unified Police Department said.

So critical that some dog handlers are always with their K9s.

“I’m with Dingo every waking moment of my life,” Sgt. Chad Reyes with the Unified Police Department said.

Reyes and Dingo have been partners for three years.

“The definition of the language of dogs is timing and consistency,” Reyes said.

If the sergeant is consistent with his timing in the way he rewards his Belgian Malinois, they build communication and trust as a team.

The K9s apprehend suspects, search for missing kids and sniff out drugs and evidence.

“They have an olfactory sense that is 100,000 to 1,000,000 times better than ours,” Reyes said. “That’s what we rely on the dogs for.”

Police dogs are expensive: between $5,000 and $10,000. But they are efficient and effective.

“You really get your bang for the buck because a handler can go out and work with his partner rather than having another police officer with him as a backup,” Peterson said.

Peterson said a dog and his handler can clear a school — sniffing out a bomb threat in a fraction of the time it would take six officers.

The handler can also control the use of force and call off the dog.

“It has a brain,” Petersen said. “The dog is smart. It’s a smart tool.”

New technology has made a big difference over the years in the way police fight crime.

Tasers, better bulletproof vests and portable computers have all helped police.

But there simply isn't any technological replacement for the K9.

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Jed Boal

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