1977
When I came into the Michigan State Police, I had no idea that they had a Canine Unit. Two of the Sergeants at my first post were former dog handlers and from them I found out there was a Canine Unit. I applied, was accepted and it’s been mutually beneficial ever since. I was in the Michigan State Police over 28 years, almost 26 of which I spent in the Canine Unit. I started with a tracking dog named Jack and then throughout the years I worked with dope dogs, bomb dogs, tactical dogs and cadaver dogs as I progressed from handler to the Canine Unit Trainer position in 1991 and then to Canine Unit Commander in 1996 when Sgt. Gary Shank retired.
2017
I retired from the State Police in 2003 and then for thirteen years took a position at Providence Hospital in Southfield as a Canine Security Specialist along with Canine Security Officer Ron Cook. Handling a dog in a hospital setting presents challenges beyond the law enforcement arena. You work in close proximity to lots of people. You must always be aware of your surroundings as children are unpredictable and you never know when a child is going to run out of a room or off an elevator. A dog with a solid temperament is a must. I worked two dogs there with the last dog being Rondo who was a son of my dog Jewel. We both walked out the door to retirement together. Real retirement this time.
I am a member of the National Association of Professional Canine Handlers (NAPCH). This organization was formed in Michigan but soon spread to several States, Canada and the Netherlands. We hold seminars every year and for the last three or four years we have had over three hundred canine teams participate in our seminar. I hold the title of Master Trainer for Patrol, Narcotics, Explosive and Cadaver and assist where needed at the seminars. For the last four or five years I have taught Narcotic Search. It is rewarding to watch the handler’s skills progress and see that go down the lead to improve the dog’s skill. I highly recommend this organization to people who are full time handlers either in the Law Enforcement side or the civilian side i.e. Security or Detector Dog Handlers.
Over the years I have found that there is no perfect dog. Maybe your last dog was, but that is the one exception. You can only hope that the faults your dog has are ones that you can live with and overlook. I believe that the biggest fault dogs have is that they do not live long enough.