Grand Traverse County Sheriff Deputy Travis Horn is adding Hungarian to his skill set.
The latest K-9 handler in the department, Horn commands his trained tracking and narcotics detection dog in the Ugric language of "Zando's” homeland. The three-year-old German Shepherd joined the department this month after additional training with Horn in November.
"There are up to 20 different commands, it's a learning process,” said Horn.
A $5,000 grant from the Milk-Bone Heroes program in October combined with the county Board of Commissioners' green light to use a timely asset forfeiture paid the $10,000 price tag for the highly trained animal.
"Nationwide, they were going to give out six dogs and it would have been a shame not to have been able to take it,” said Sheriff Scott Fewins of the Milk-Bone Heroes grant, which he applied for about a year ago. "Our funding was very unique and special.”
The region now boasts five K-9 teams as the Traverse City Police Department and the Traverse City State Police Post each have a dog on their roster. Covering the whole county, the Sheriff's Department handles about 400 calls with the dogs a year. They also share the K-9 teams when requested with other communities who have smaller police or sheriff's departments. The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's K-9 teams also assist the Traverse City Narcotic Team when asked.
"There's not that many up here because they are very expensive,” said Fewins of the dogs. "We're very lucky — having the extra dog has been a big deal to us.”
As a patrol deputy, K-9 teams cruise the county like the other deputies, they just have an special tool on tap. "Zando” is trained to track and apprehend fleeing suspects, find lost people, locate stolen property or items thrown away by criminals and detect a full spectrum of narcotics. When out on patrol, "Zando” has a special place in Horn's Ford Expedition; the oversize vehicle is used for K-9 teams to allow room for suspects.
"Zando” lives with Horn but is not a pet; he sleeps in a kennel outside and is a working dog always raring to go. Most police dogs work until they are eight to ten years old, providing an average of five to seven years of service before retirement.
"You want a dog with a high drive and it's a game to them,” Horn said. "Their reward is a tennis ball.”
Horn and "Zando” are learning the specifics of K-9 duties together, working and practicing both on and off duty to get accustomed to one another.
"He's a pretty social dog and pretty easy-going,” Horn said. "So far he's not pulled any attitudes on me.”
The Sheriff's Department K-9 teams comprise three deputies out of 39 road patrol deputies. They three split shifts to provide maximum coverage over each week, emphasizing the afternoon and night shifts when dogs are most used. The K-9 teams are on call 24/7 year round and a team is always available.
The two narcotics dogs, "Zando” and "Jesco,” help with locker searches in schools, providing both a law enforcement tool as well as a psychological edge for prevention. The third dog in the department, "Brutes,” is trained in explosives detection.
"We had one dog and then we expanded, we really saw the need for an explosives dog in the schools and community,” said Fewins, noting that the department had one dog when he joined 26 years ago.