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Newest department member loves his duties
(by Joan Demirjian - June 13, 2012)
Newest department member loves his duties
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Bainbridge Trustees officially appointed the newest member to the township police department Monday.
They accepted Ozzie, a 16-month-old canine to be used for search and tracking. The canine officer has been trained by officer Jon Weiner.
He is certified in drug detection and tracking, Bainbridge Police Chief Jon Bokovitz said.
The dog has already been on the job, tracking and detecting drugs. He notifies police officers to a drug detection by doing a "passive alert" in which he sits and looks at where the drugs are located until he gets his toy, Mr. Bokovitz told trustees.
Mr. Weiner said the dog, a Belgian malinois, is from Slovakia and takes commands in the Czech language.
He has a high work drive, he said. The breed is known for their work in the military and in police duty. They were used with the U.S. Navy Seals raid in 2011 on Osama bin Laden.
Ozzie does evidence recovery, as well as criminal apprehension in buildings and area searches and protection of his handler.
"He is state and nationally certified," Mr. Weiner said. He worked with Ozzie for nine weeks at Excel K-9 Services Inc. in Cleveland, which imports and trains police dogs. Ozzie was certified on May 19.
He still has a lot of puppy in him and is passionate about chasing tennis balls after work, Mr. Weiner said.
Food as a treat in his work is discouraged because they don't want the dog ever to be attracted to poison given by a criminal, Mr. Weiner said.
The dog's services have been called upon several times already for narcotic searches in Bainbridge and found narcotics in cars.
When finding a fugitive, he bites and holds on.
"He loves to work," Mr. Weiner said. "The breed is bred for high drive and they want a task. To them, it's all fun and games. They get satisfaction from their work."
Ozzie is on duty at all times with Mr. Weiner, and they are sometimes called in while off duty to investigate a case. Other departments also call on them. He has been used by the Geauga County Sheriff for drug searches.
Ozzie is very good with children, Mr. Weiner said. "He wants to play." They will be visiting schools in addition to his police work.
The police department's first police dog, Tango, passed away last January from cancer. He was 9 1/2. Mr. Bokovitz said it is the intent of the police department to acquire and train a second dog in the fall. The department has received donations from residents for the dogs.
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