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.