The Corvallis Police K-9 Unit:
Part III
Meet the Teams

Note: This is the third of several articles in a series that explores the value of police dogs to a community. Go to Archives to read Parts I and II.

In Part I we learned that communities are investing in police dogs because they are an asset to community livability. Police dogs are greatly more efficient at finding objects, drugs, and people than officers, they enhance officer safety, they often cause criminals to surrender without a struggle, and they reduce a community's liability to law suits.

In Part II, we learned why police dogs are so good at what they do and we also learned what makes a good K-9 handler. And in this installment we will meet the officers and dogs that have, and are, serving Corvallis.

Hello Ike & Phil, Dag & Mike, Xar & Jason

Corvallis' first police canine unit, made up of Ike and Officer Phil Howrey, started on the 6th of June, 1996. But even though Ike contracted leukemia and retired after three years of service, he and Phil brought to Corvallis an understanding of the value of police dogs to a community. And in so doing, they set a high standard for the teams to follow, beginning in 1999 when Officer Mike Wells was selected to succeed Phil. Mike and Dag made a excellent team and were highly successful right up until April of 2005 when Mike was selected to be a detective. The current team of Xar and Officer Jason Harvey hit the streets of Corvallis together in September of 2005. And, as you will see, they are off to a very strong start.

Xar and Jason, Keeping You Safe Today

Ever since he was a teen, Jason knew that he wanted to be a canine officer. Jason grew up in Salem and when he was a high school sophomore, Jason joined the Salem Police Cadets. Then, as now, Salem had a large canine unit and Jason took every opportunity that came his way to go on patrol with one of the canine officers. He learned first hand about police canines, from philosophy, to training, to application. He relished this experience. Quite simply, Jason loved dogs and before he finished high school he had set his goal to become a canine officer.

As Jason was finishing his tour as a Corvallis detective (Corvallis detectives rotate every 3-5 years), the then Canine Officer, Mike Wells, was applying for the detective position Jason would be vacating. This transition provided the perfect opportunity for Jason to fulfill his goal. He applied to be the Canine Officer and was awarded that position in April of 2005. Then, in June, Jason and J.R. Frost, a retired Eugene K-9 handler and Master Trainer, went to Adlerhorst International in Riverside, California to select a dog.

JR and Jason worked for the first few days with five dogs before selecting Xar, a German Shepherd who was just 15 months old at the time. He came from Slovakia where his grandsire was a Schutzhund Grand Champion. Jason and JR narrowed the choice down to two dogs and in the end selected Xar because he was the only one to complete all of the courage tests. (More on Schutzhund and selection in the next installment.) After selection, Jason and Xar returned to Corvallis where they went through rigorous training with JR. And in September 2005 they tested with flying colors to become certified by the Oregon Police Canine Association, a requirement CPD imposes before a dog is allowed on patrol.

Jason just lights up when he talks about Xar and about being a K-9 handler. The bond he has with Xar and the respect he has for Xar's ability is readily evident every time a conversation turns to Xar. Jason's favorite case that demonstrates Xar's exceptional tracking skill occurred in February of 2006. At about 3:45 am, a man approached a delivery driver in a parking lot on Circle Blvd., told the driver he had a gun, and demanded money. The suspect fled on foot and was gone when Jason and Xar arrived on the scene. Xar tracked the suspect all the way to the 1900 block of Division St. where Xar made the capture.

The notable fact in this case is the great distance that Xar was able to track a dangerous person on a hard surface. Pavement is the most difficult surface for a dog to track on and the trail in this case was entirely on pavement. The suspect was arrested and transported to jail on charges of robbery (a felony and Measure 11 crime), menacing, and disorderly conduct.

He is but one of the thirty-three criminals that Xar has captured and taken off Corvallis streets in just a year and a half. An excellent start indeed.

Dag and Mike, the Old Pros

Like Jason, (now) Detective Mike Wells knew since he was a lad that he wanted to be a canine handler. Mike joined the Corvallis Police in 1996 as a rookie officer just at the time Phil Howrey was getting the K-9 program started. So it was a natural fit for Mike to play the role of perpetrator decoy and team with Phil during training sessions for Ike. That experience proved to be excellent preparation for Mike. It gave him an advantage when he applied for the K-9 handler position that opened when Ike was retired and Phil returned to regular patrol.

After Mike was appointed to be the K-9 handler, he and Phil Howrey went to Adlerhorst International to select a dog. They found a likely prospect and spent the next six weeks going through the kennel's training program. Unfortunately, the dog failed the certification test at the end of training so Mike and Phil returned empty handed to Corvallis, disappointed but not discouraged. Mike went back to the kennel two months later and this time, out of about 30 dogs and with the kennel's recommendation, he chose Dag.

Dag Ko-Jar was a three-year old German Shepherd from Czechoslovakia where he was trained as a competition and show dog. His dam was a show dog and his sire, a champion Schutzhund competitor. Mike and Dag spent the first three days getting to know one another and then they sailed through the training and certification. As it turned out, Dag was Mike's first dog ever in that Mike's family did not have a dog while Mike was growing up.

When asked what he liked most about being a K-9 officer, a huge grin appeared and Mike replied, "It's like the best game of hide and seek. There is excitement in finding a dangerous person." And Dag and Mike had a stellar record in five and a half years of service, having captured and put away over 60 criminals. Their documented record is 62 captures.

Mike recounted that his and Dag's best find was in response to a call in the county way out on Highway 20 near the coast. At the scene, Mike and Dag were confronted with a situation where Dag tracked the perpetrator to the river and there the trail went cold. Mike and the other officers were sure that the guy had somehow gone across the river. But without proper clothing and equipment to cross safely, Mike and the other officers decided to call off the search.

On the way back to the patrol car Mike let Dag off his leash. As soon as Mike let go, Dag took off down the river. Mike and Dag were new at this time and, to Mike's chagrin and embarrassment in front of fellow officers, Dag would not obey his command to come back. Dag just kept running down the riverbank and finally stopped about one hundred yards away. He refused to come back. So Mike had to go after him.

When he got to Dag, Dag still resisted and it was then that Mike heard a feeble, scared voice come from the river saying, "I'm here." The guy had gotten into the river so that only part of his face was above the surface, just enough to breathe. But it was winter and the water was so cold that he could no longer move and had to be pulled out. Mike laughed as he said that all embarrassment was forgotten when Dag was wowed and praised by the other officers. And he learned from that night forward to trust Dag's instincts over his own.

Ike and Phil, Trailblazers

Phil Howrey smiled as he said that one of the keys to a great K-9 program is full trust by the handler in the dog's ability. Phil said that Ike, "...challenged my ability to train him. But I had great confidence in him. He was highly obedient when he and I were working. But Ike knew there was a difference when we were making a public appearance. And he would push his limits and ham it up for the crowd, especially if the audience was children." Phil said that Ike loved children and that he (Phil) had absolute trust in Ike's behavior. He said he could let Ike off his leash to run freely in a classroom full of active school kids and not be at all worried about safety.

Phil joined the Corvallis Police in 1994, having previously served for a number of years with the Lebanon Police. Phil grew up with and loved dogs all his life so he had a long-time interest in police dogs by the time he became an officer. His interest grew as he watched the Linn County dog and then, at his own initiative, Phil started the K-9 program in Lebanon.

The first Lebanon dog was Phil's personal pet, Ben, an American Shepherd. Phil and Ben trained at Mt. Angel (home of the Oregon Police Canine Association) for five months and earned their Oregon certification. Ben worked three years, retired, and was replaced by Rex, a German Shepherd with whom Phil patrolled for six years. During his tour in Lebanon, Phil served two, two-year terms as President of the Oregon Police Canine Association and earned the title of Master Trainer.

In 1994 Corvallis Police were studying the positive effects that K-9 programs were delivering to other communities and decided it was time to bring these benefits to Corvallis. And by hiring Phil with all of his experience to build the program they found a sure way to get off to a successful start. Phil established the conceptual, legal, procedural, and administrative aspects of the program in 1995. And then in 1996 he went to Adlerhorst International to buy Corvallis' first dog. There, he selected Ike von der Heiderstrass, a three year-old German-born Belgian Shepherd trained to be a Schutzhund competitor.

When asked what he liked most about being a K-9 handler, Phil smiled and immediately said, "I got great joy out of doing public presentations, especially with kids in schools. I also liked watching the dogs work and have great admiration for a dog's ability to find a person."

On the other side of the coin, Phil said that Ike was highly verbal and would bark at everything, adding stress to already stressful situations. That got to be tiring, he said. And then Phil laughed as he recounted that when calling dispatch on the radio he didn't have to give his badge number to identify himself. "Ike barked every time I picked up the mike -- his bark was my number. Nobody could have heard my number anyway."

Phil's favorite Ike story took place one Halloween night. Phil and Ike responded to a call that someone was going down a street smashing mailboxes. They got to the scene and Ike tracked the person down a side street to a dead end. There, they encountered a wall of blackberry vines. A small tunnel that looked like it was made by animals penetrated the wall. Phil said that he thought the tunnel was way too small for any person to fit into but Ike kept indicating otherwise.

So, trusting Ike's instinct, Phil let him off his leash and Ike charged into the tunnel. Pretty soon Ike started alerting (barking to indicate a find) and then the guy yelled out, "Hey, call off your dog." Phil recalled Ike and ordered the perpetrator to come out. Before too long the guy crawled out, bleeding all over from briar scratches -- dressed in a black Dracula costume complete with a cape. Phil arrested him for criminal mischief.

The Best Job

There is no doubt that all three of the Corvallis K-9 handlers love(d) what they do (did). They share absolute dedication, an amazing bond with their dogs, and a fondness for connecting with people in the community. They sit back and smile and laugh a lot when they tell their stories. But when they talk about their dogs and what their dogs can do, their eyes are alive and they sit up and speak with a voice of respect and admiration.

Phil said being a K-9 handler is the best job in the Department.

Up Next

In the next installment of this series, Part IV, we will learn how dogs are selected and will also look at training and why it is important for police dogs to be used for only one application. Part V will feature patrol dogs and Part VI, drug detection dogs. Part VII will conclude the series with an illustration of just how efficient police dogs are.

References

Corvallis Police Department
Officer Jason Harvey
Officer Phil Howrey
Detective Mike Wells