Lucy the K-9, first tour of duty

This month a Vernon County Deputy will undergo K-9 handler training with the new K-9, Lucy, a yellow lab the Sheriff's Office received this month.

Lucy was trained by a professional K-9 trainer and received a national certification for narcotics detection in methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin and cocaine.

The K-9 was also trained in human tracking at the same time. As part of the certification course for the deputy that will be the K-9 handler, the dog trainer will spend several weeks riding with the deputy on duty to train the deputy how to handle and manage the K-9.

Although the new dog came with papers showing its certification, I have always stuck to one simple method of proving if something works or not: show me!

But this did not take long. This last week two people ran off on foot after a vehicle pursuit, and I was surprised to see how well the K-9 performed.

It took one sniff of the vehicle, turned around and, with its nose to the ground, led deputies into a nearby barn and right to one of the suspects who was hiding inside.

Since the middle ages, dogs have been used for some type of law enforcement purpose.

Some cases of dogs being used can be found in early English days with money being set aside in villages for the parish constable's bloodhounds that were used to hunt down outlaws.

There were also bloodhounds used in Scotland that were known as "Slough dogs" similar to the word "Sleuth" meaning detective.

The first dogs used on a large scale were in Continental Europe, but one of the most common K-9 dogs we see today is the German Shepherd which was selected by German police for police work.

One of the first dog training schools opened in 1920, in Greenheide, Germany. These dogs were trained in tracking and attacking criminals.

Not only will the new K-9 Lucy be able to help with tracking criminals and finding drugs on search warrants or traffic stops, but she will also be very valuable when searching for missing or runaway children.

A special dog cage has been installed in one of the patrol vehicles that will carry Lucy when she "reports for duty" every day with the deputy.

The K-9 will also be available to assist other agencies and will be available for schools and daycare facilities to check for illegal drugs and controlled substances.