Condor 

      Late one night in Mid-January on the news came word that a K-9 Officer in Elk Grove had been killed. The part of the story that really touched me was the K-9 partner went back to the police station and refused to come out of the backroom after the shooting. When a dog to loses an owner it is sad, but K-9’s are an officer’s companion both at work and in private life. This leads me to the story of Condor, Jackson’s K-9 patrol dog.

    Condor, a full blood German Shepard, is partnered with Al Lewis. Al has been a police officer in Jackson in excess of 3 years and worked in Law enforcement for 34 years. After his retirement from a Bay Area city he decided he wasn’t ready to settle down just yet and called Jackson asking if they needed a K-9 officer. The Jackson Police Chief responded “the city of Jackson did not have the money for a K-9 unit but sure could use one”.

    Al offered to buy the dog and work part time. Thus the Jackson K-9 enforcement unit was born.  Al had worked with a K-9 training group in the Bay Area so he was familiar with how to obtain a dog. He found a dog overseas in the Check Republic with bloodlines that met the requirements. Al who paid for the dog with his own money (in the thousands of dollars) trained as a handler with the dog (a four week process) and then they both came to work in Jackson.

    Condor is not only a police dog he is the family pet. He changes between the two roles quickly. When Al dresses in the uniform and the police car door opens, Condor knows it’s time to go to work. Al patrols with Condor riding in the back of the squad car. It’s not a backseat but a mini kennel. Condor needs space to move. As with any German Shepard he is hyper. It’s this hyper trait along with their intelligence and strength that make them great dogs for law enforcement.

   When I met Al at the Police station in Jackson, besides the obvious writing on the side of his car indicating K-9 unit, the car was rocking back and forth when Al exited the vehicle. Thus anyone who didn’t know at first would soon realize that inside was a force they might not want to deal with.

Al stated that in many ways having Condor is better than having a human partner. In a situation that may require backup the threat of a dog running at or after a suspect is more likely to make anyone attempting to run to think twice.

    When Officer Lewis needs to investigate, Condor stays in the car. In Lewis’ hand he carries a remote control device that will release the door catch. With the release of the door, out springs Condor. Condor only responds to the sound of Officer Lewis’ voice and only in the German language he was trained in. Condor, as part of his training in the US learns to respond only to Officer Lewis’ voice.

    Once Condor exits the vehicle he is in his element. He loves the chase and the hunt. The chase could be for a suspect or the hunt would be for drugs. In the case of a chase it doesn’t last long as anyone who has a dog knows that no matter the size, dogs can generally outrun a human.

     The Majority of Condor’s work though is sniffing out drugs. In an exhibition for me Condor demonstrated his ability to locate drugs. Dogs are used for drug detection because of their nasal sensors which are much more acute than humans. Condor can find drugs hidden in secure locations. Examples of Condors finds have been drugs hidden in the panels or hubcaps of cars, h and even in very creative spots within a vehicle such as a gearshift panel or a secret compartment in the glove box.  Condor is called into action also whenever the Jackson Police or Amador Sheriff’s office asks for assistance on a traffic stop. Drug searches can only be conducted on a vehicle stop when the driver is on parole or there is a reason to indicate drugs are in the car.

    Once Condor has exited the police car the hunt for drugs doesn’t take long. He generally goes right to the spot the drugs are located. He then lies down where the drugs are and awaits his reward---a special toy that Officer Lewis throws for him.

    When Condor is not on duty he is the family pet. A police dog will serve for 6 years then retire to become strictly the family pet. Anyone who meets Condor in his role as pet would not have a clue that he is a working police dog. He loves playing with members of the family and other dogs. When not on duty he loves to just kick back and rest as we all do. 

Walter 

       As I write this the entire Mother Lode is decked out in holiday decorations. People are filling the stores and the smells on Main street Jackson coming through the open doors can’t help but bring the Christmas Spirit out in everyone.

       I would like to dedicate this final column of 2012 to all the people and their dogs of the Mother Lode. It is a great place to spend the holidays. The residents of the Mother Lode are people with hearts of gold. The people I’m speaking of are those that help dogs.

      One such story came to my attention in this past week. In a crazy series of events an animal control officer out on patrol in the north county had parked his truck on the edge of a back road. When he returned to his truck, in the back was a 120 pound Bloodhound, name unknown.

    The officer found himself in a bit of a dilemma. They usually rescue dogs that are wandering out in the country but never have dogs been placed in their truck. The officer brought the Bloodhound back to the county animal shelter. Once the dog was unloaded it became obvious to the staff he was a dog that would easily be adopted. A call was placed by John, of the Amador animal shelter, to the Walker Hound rescue volunteers John and Tina Kellogg. The Kelloggs picked up the Bloodhound and brought him to their home.

   In the meantime a notice was placed by animal control in the Ledger Dispatch that a Bloodhound was available for adoption. The shelter also placed the ad on their website. Within a week a call from Kate in Marysville was made to the shelter and forwarded to John and Tina. Kate was looking for a dog to foster and wanted to meet the Bloodhound. Arrangements were made for Kate to meet the bloodhound at Paradise Doggie Daycare in Martell.

   The meeting was on and Kate quickly drove to Martell where it was love at first sight. Kate agreed to foster the unnamed hound. But as all dog owners know every dog needs a name so the name Walter was chosen. Why, was anyone’s guess, but it just seemed to fit.

   When looking at Walter’s picture his face reminds me of actor Walter Brennan.  Having adopted a dog named Wilson from Tri Valley Rescue 11 years ago (who as I can best described looked like the volleyball, Tom Hanks’ best friend in the movie “Castaway”) looks are often used when naming a pet. There is a theory that dogs often look like their owner and I have found that to be true.

    Walter now resides in Marysville awaiting a permanent home. John Kellogg at Walker hound rescue thinks that Walter will more than likely only be in Foster care for a short amount of time. He thinks his home with Kate will become permanent.

    Walter was quickly placed by the efforts of animal control and Walker Hound rescue and a dog lover that gave him a foster home.. In the year that I have been writing these stories I have come to know there are many organizations in both Amador. El Dorado and Calaveras counties that help out with dogs.

    Walter was more than likely placed in the truck because someone could no longer take care of him. In these days of high unemployment and recession, times are tough for people .  I urge anyone who cannot take care of a dog, not to drop it on the side of the road and assume that the dog will find a home. Please call animal control or anyone of the rescue organizations in Amador, Calaveras or Eldorado counties to help.  No dog deserves to be abandoned.