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Dope dog: Oregon Department of Corrections Parole and Probation Officer Chris Hooley plays with Gunter, a 20-month-old German shepherd that joined the Myrtle Creek Parole and Probation Office full time in September.
MYRTLE CREEK — There’s a new Department of Corrections employee on patrol in South County.
He’s got a good nose for drugs. And he knows how to have fun while he works.
Gunter is a 20-month-old German shepherd that joined the Myrtle Creek Parole and Probation Office full time in September to help track down drug users and assist other departments in the county.
Gunter accompanies his handler, Parole and Probation Officer Chris Hooley, everywhere she goes.
“He thinks he is my partner. He gets really upset if I pull out of my driveway and he’s not with me,” she said.
While Hooley works in her office above the Myrtle Creek Police Department, Gunter rests quietly in his kennel. But when she opens the door, he knows it’s time for his favorite game: hide and seek.
Hooley does this training exercise daily: She hides small cloth pouches filled with a drug.
Recently, she tucked one underneath the seat of a plastic chair in the hall, another inside a breaker box, and another in a desk drawer.
“You ready to find some dope? Find some dope! Find some dope!”
she exclaimed. “Where is it? Show me!”
He ran toward the chair energetically, tapped his nose on the seat, and proudly sat.
Hooley proclaimed how good he was and tossed him his reward, a red ball. Then it was off to the next spot. Hooley was right there with him, tapping outlets and door frames, reminding him, “Did you check here?”
Gunter’s sharp nose has proved handy in the field.
He’s sniffed out an abandoned car; he’s found drugs during visits to parolees’ and probationers’ residences; and he has even found drugs on someone who stopped by the office to meet with Hooley. Other county agencies are starting to recruit Gunter’s help as well, from the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team to Umpqua Training & Employment.
Gunter saves time, and he’s a good prevention tool, she said.
It used to take four or more officers to search a residence, “where it would take a dog 20 minutes,” she said. “They have just an unreal sense of smell. It’s amazing the places he’ll find drugs.”
Gunter is currently trained to find marijuana, meth, cocaine and heroine, but Hooley would also like him to recognize opiates and ecstasy.
She and her partner, Neil Daniels, have also started hiding things in advance in the park in hopes he’ll start picking up on the scents without prompting.
“We’re trying to train him to be looking and searching all the time,” she said.
He’s got a good nose for drugs. And he knows how to have fun while he works.
Gunter is a 20-month-old German shepherd that joined the Myrtle Creek Parole and Probation Office full time in September to help track down drug users and assist other departments in the county.
Gunter accompanies his handler, Parole and Probation Officer Chris Hooley, everywhere she goes.
“He thinks he is my partner. He gets really upset if I pull out of my driveway and he’s not with me,” she said.
While Hooley works in her office above the Myrtle Creek Police Department, Gunter rests quietly in his kennel. But when she opens the door, he knows it’s time for his favorite game: hide and seek.
Hooley does this training exercise daily: She hides small cloth pouches filled with a drug.
Recently, she tucked one underneath the seat of a plastic chair in the hall, another inside a breaker box, and another in a desk drawer.
“You ready to find some dope? Find some dope! Find some dope!”
she exclaimed. “Where is it? Show me!”
He ran toward the chair energetically, tapped his nose on the seat, and proudly sat.
Hooley proclaimed how good he was and tossed him his reward, a red ball. Then it was off to the next spot. Hooley was right there with him, tapping outlets and door frames, reminding him, “Did you check here?”
Gunter’s sharp nose has proved handy in the field.
He’s sniffed out an abandoned car; he’s found drugs during visits to parolees’ and probationers’ residences; and he has even found drugs on someone who stopped by the office to meet with Hooley. Other county agencies are starting to recruit Gunter’s help as well, from the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team to Umpqua Training & Employment.
Gunter saves time, and he’s a good prevention tool, she said.
It used to take four or more officers to search a residence, “where it would take a dog 20 minutes,” she said. “They have just an unreal sense of smell. It’s amazing the places he’ll find drugs.”
Gunter is currently trained to find marijuana, meth, cocaine and heroine, but Hooley would also like him to recognize opiates and ecstasy.
She and her partner, Neil Daniels, have also started hiding things in advance in the park in hopes he’ll start picking up on the scents without prompting.
“We’re trying to train him to be looking and searching all the time,” she said.
The Oregon Department of Corrections has two other drug detection dogs, but Gunter is the first to patrol Douglas County. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office used to operate a canine program with dogs that participated in search and rescues, tracking felons and finding drugs, but the program stopped because of the cost in 2004 when the last dog retired.
Hooley started soliciting the Douglas County Community Corrections Department for a drug dog a year ago, but there just wasn’t enough money. A trained German shepherd costs from $4,500 up to $7,500.
But Hooley kept searching. She found a Cottage Grove breeder, Jason Coutts, who trains dogs for law enforcement and donates several a year to departments that can’t afford one.
Coutts agreed to donate Gunter if the corrections department paid the $1,000 for Hooley’s 10 days of training. Gunter also has a lot of financial support from the community, including from a 4-H club and a local veterinarian, who provides at-cost vet care.
Coutts said Hooley and Gunter were a natural match. Hooley is familiar with animals and knows how to read them. Gunter didn’t have the aggressive nature required for a patrol dog, but he loves to search.
“As long as you keep it fun for the dog, the dog will search his heart out for you. Gunter fits that profile. You let him go, he’s automatically in search mode,” Coutts said.
Though the department owns the dog, Gunter returns home to the Hooley residence each day and is a regular family pet, adored by Hooley’s daughter, Stevie, and tortured by the family’s cat. Gunter also joins another dog and horses on Dan and Chris’s property outside of Canyonville.
Hooley says Gunter was worth the investment of time and money.
“He’s a great dog, very smart. And he’s made an impact, I think, with the offenders,” she said, adding, “The dog has just made my job over the top.”
• You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
Hooley started soliciting the Douglas County Community Corrections Department for a drug dog a year ago, but there just wasn’t enough money. A trained German shepherd costs from $4,500 up to $7,500.
But Hooley kept searching. She found a Cottage Grove breeder, Jason Coutts, who trains dogs for law enforcement and donates several a year to departments that can’t afford one.
Coutts agreed to donate Gunter if the corrections department paid the $1,000 for Hooley’s 10 days of training. Gunter also has a lot of financial support from the community, including from a 4-H club and a local veterinarian, who provides at-cost vet care.
Coutts said Hooley and Gunter were a natural match. Hooley is familiar with animals and knows how to read them. Gunter didn’t have the aggressive nature required for a patrol dog, but he loves to search.
“As long as you keep it fun for the dog, the dog will search his heart out for you. Gunter fits that profile. You let him go, he’s automatically in search mode,” Coutts said.
Though the department owns the dog, Gunter returns home to the Hooley residence each day and is a regular family pet, adored by Hooley’s daughter, Stevie, and tortured by the family’s cat. Gunter also joins another dog and horses on Dan and Chris’s property outside of Canyonville.
Hooley says Gunter was worth the investment of time and money.
“He’s a great dog, very smart. And he’s made an impact, I think, with the offenders,” she said, adding, “The dog has just made my job over the top.”
• You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
Gunter glance
• For those who would like Gunter to visit their school or organization, call Douglas County Community Corrections Director Mark Cadotte, 957-2077.
• For information on Oregon K9 Consulting, which donated Gunter, see www.oregonk9.com. |
