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Testimonials
and Articles
 "AVANT"
Spring Branch ISD PD
"JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT AVANT SEEMS TO BE WORKING OUT
WELL. WE'VE GOTTEN FIVE CAPTURES ON THREE DIFFERENT SCENES. I'VE
GOT SOME PRETTY GOOD WAR STORIES FOR JUST WORKING HIM FOR ABOUT
THREE MONTHS. CHIEF BRAWNER IS REAL PLEASED WITH HIM.
I
KNOW ALL TOO WELL THAT EVERYONE TAKES TIME TO COMPLAIN, BUT FEW
TAKE TIME TO GIVE THANKS WHEN IT IS DUE. I THINK YOU MADE A PRETTY
GOOD MATCH HERE. THANKS ALOT!
IF
THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO FOR YOU, LET ME KNOW. I'LL GIVE YOU A
GOOD REFERENCE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO TALK TO ME."
JERRY
"NANDO" Cushing PD
"I wanted
to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication to making each of
us better handlers. I know that I took allot from the class and know that I
am a better officer for attending. With the information and training
provided, I have the utmost confidence in both myself and Nando's ability to
meet each challenge head on."
...Sgt. Folden
See
NANDO'S BUST on the Wall of Fame
From The Cushing Citizen
Dog Days
Cushing once again has canine
police officer on patrol
by Jim Perry, Managing Editor
Cushing
Police Department has four new feet to pound the pavement. But only one new
officer.
Nando, a German shepherd, has filled a void on the CPD, Chief Terry Brannon
announced. Nando joined the police rank and file after spending two weeks in
training with CPD Sgt. Tully Folden.
"We hit it off right from the start," Folden said
of the man-dog relationship borne on the grounds of Worldwide Canine Inc., a
15-acre canine training facility outside Spring Branch, Texas, about 30 miles
north of San Antonio. "He is very handler-protective."
Folden and Nando are now a team for the CPD and will help the department
battle illegal drug activity, Brannon said.
"Nando is a welcome addition to the department," Brannon said. "I am very
appreciative of the efforts of the city council and City Manager Steve Spears.
Without their support, Nando would not have become a reality for the police
department and community.
"I am very appreciative of their support of our efforts to suppress illegal
drug activity in Cushing."
Cushing has gone about 18 months,
Folden said, without a "drug dog" on its force. The department’s most recent
canine officer, "P.D.," was retired after losing his right front leg to cancer
and slowing to a non-workable pace, Folden said.
"He's 13 and, without the leg, has slowed a lot," Folden said. "We retired him
and the give and take of getting a replacement caused the delay."
Both P.D. and Nando live with the Folden family.
Nando, Folden said, is a no-nonsense police officer.
"He has a fun side with me," Folden said, "but with pretty much everybody
else, he is all business. He has a high drive.
"My wife can pet him but he keeps a close eye on just about everybody."
Many breeds — shepherds, Labradors, golden retrievers, Belgian malinois, giant
schnauzers — are used as police and protection dogs, Folden said. He prefers
shepherds, he said, because of their ability and desire to be good police
officers.
Nando is 20 months old and proved himself worthy, Folden said, during
on-the-job training exercises in Texas.
"We ran all the cells in the Guadalupe County jail," Folden said. "We ran all
the apartments in a couple of half-way houses in Austin and the returning
students in the Gary Job Corps School.
"He did very well."
The two-week stint in Texas
included training for both Nando and Folden. Part of the training included
learning vocal commands given in Czechoslovakian, Folden said.
"I basically went through the handlers' course with him," Folden said. "I
learned canine first aid and he and I worked together on tracking and
narcotics detection.
"I think he is a great addition for the city of Cushing."
And a tax-free one, Brannon said.
He was purchased with monies seized during drug busts. "The work of past and
present members of the police department has helped make this newest K-9 partner possible."
"BAK" Brazos
County
an article from:
<-- Click to see entire article
Police
officers often share a special camaraderie with other members of the force,
but for several Brazos Valley officers, their partners are a part of the
family.
The Bryan and
College Station police departments and Brazos County Sheriff's Office say
their police dogs play an important, highly specialized role serving the
public...
Bak
Bak is one of
the newest additions to the Brazos County Sheriff's Department, having
served for only six months. The 41/2-year-old Czech Republic German shepherd
is trained to find drugs and track people.
And he only
responds to commands in Czech, said his handler, deputy Mike Welch -- unless
the command is "no," which Welch said his wife taught him.
"Most of
their time was used training me," Welch said, laughing about having to learn
the commands in Czech at Worldwide Canine in Spring Branch where Bak was
raised.
Welch trains
Bak in a variety of settings, and the dog's main talent is finding drugs, he
said.
"Whenever Bak
is at a scene and finds drugs, he will paw at the substance and look at me.
He knows where his ball comes from," Welch said about the dog's reward for
finding drugs.
... Bak was
purchased after the department had to put down its last dog, Max, last year
after the 15-year-old dog developed cancer. "I tell you what, when we
had to put Max down, I did not want to get another dog. It's rough,"
said Welch, who was also Max's partner.
Welch's
patrol car has an aluminum-incased cage behind the front seat that is wired
with an alarm. If anything in the car were to fail, the windows would
automatically roll down and fans would come on to keep the dog cool.
The
Department of Public Safety, and the Bryan and College Station police
departments have all used Bak's talents, Welch said, adding that the dog has
found drugs every time DPS troopers call for him, Welch said.
Welch said Bak undoubtedly
works to the advantage of the sheriff's department.
"I think any department could
benefit from at least one dog, no matter how large or how small," he said.
"ALIS" Crusader
Resources
Picture: Don Healy,
Leader-Post
" Russ Rathy follows the lead of his narcotic detection dog Alis
Vicona..."
Article: Tim Switzer, Leader-Post
"...Alis Vicona isn't your everyday pure-bred German Shepherd,
she's a narcotic detection dog and the key to the Rathys'
struggling business, Crusader Resources...
...Rathy moved to Texas to train with Robin Hawkins, a
world-renowned dog trainer, at Worldwide Canine. There, he hooked
up with Alis, an export of Europe where her grandfather was one of
the highest ranking police dogs in German law enforcement history.
..."She is above and beyond, I think, anything that we provide in
Canada here now. She is bred and born just for this," said Rathy."...
More on Alis
and Crusader Resources
"NIK" Winnfield PD
From
Handler and Partner C. Vines:
"I would not take
a million dollars for Nik."
"The K9 probably saved my life on this. Nick never backed
off no matter how much the suspect fought. He never let
suspect get between me and him. He was not hurt but he tore
the suspect's *&# up."
"We have made a lot of drug arrests with Nik."
From a
Winnfield newspaper article:
K-9 Officer and Partner Nik Make Drug Arrest
A routine traffic stop by a Winnfield police officer
netted a find of illegal drugs on February 11 and arrested two on
drug charges...
Police officer Craig Vines, who is also the k-9 Officer of the WPD,
stopped a car ... after observing the vehicle run a red light.
During the initial investigative stop, Officer Vines detected a
strong odor of marijuana. When the driver consented to a
search of the vehicle, Officer Vines enlisted the aid of his K-9
partner Nik in determining whether there was indeed drugs present
in the vehicle.
After Nik alerted, Officer Vines searched the entire vehicle and
found several bags of marijuana packaged for sale. He
arrested the driver... on charges of possession of marijuana with
the intent to distribute and disobeying a red light. The
passenger.. was charged with possession...
Chief Phelps commended his officer and the dog and said the
addition of the K-9 to this department is a great tool in the war
against drugs.
"Nik is a dual-purpose dog," said the public relations officer.
"He is trained to attack to save an officer's life as well as to
detect drugs."
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