Police officers find new best friend

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January 31, 2009

By LISA SIMPSON STRANGE The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Jan 31, 2009, 03:45 PM CST

GLASGOW — The newest member of the Glasgow Police Department was out of uniform last week as he trained for his new post with officer Michael Houchens.

Ranger, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, is a narcotics dog that will join department officers on patrol when his orientation period with his new handler is complete.

Houchens uses a tennis ball as a reward for Ranger and said anytime the dog sees it he knows its time to get to work. Ranger can jump vertically more than five feet to retrieve the ball and his jaws, which are stronger than many other dog species, snap with crocodile-like precision on his fuzzy prey. The canine has gone through several tennis balls since his arrival, Houchens said.

The dog came to Glasgow through the Pennyrile Narcotic Task Force and the Calloway Sheriff’s Department.

Glasgow was selected to receive Ranger through a raffle in December during the Kentucky Narcotics Officers Association Conference in Louisville, said Capt. Kent Keen, spokesman for the department. The estimated value of the canine is $8,000.

Local officers picked up the canine in Hopkinsville several weeks ago and Houchens was anxious to meet his new charge.

“That was the first time I’d seen him,” he said, “but I heard a lot about him and probably looked at his picture about 100 times a day just to get myself familiar with him.”

Houchens is in control of Ranger 24 hours a day and said the two bonded very quickly. When the work day is over, he takes the dog home with him where the canine has his own kennel.

Houchen’s wife Amy and the couple’s two dogs, a 90-pound German Shepherd and a 70-pound Labrador Retriever mix, have also accepted the new recruit into their home, he said.

Ranger has been trained as “an aggressive canine with positive alert narcotics detection,” Keen said. This means the dog has been conditioned to react anytime the presence of narcotics is detected. The dog searches for multiple types of drugs with direction from his handler.

“He’s one of the most curious dogs I’ve ever seen,” Houchens said. “It’s amazing how these dogs are. Their scent is 100 times better than ours.”

When dog and officer are traveling, Ranger stays in a backseat kennel that has been added to Houchen’s patrol car. His name has also been added to the cruiser’s markings along with a K-9 unit designation.

Houchens is looking forward to getting Ranger on the job, he said.

“I’m excited to see the first pursuit that he can help with,” he said.

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