HOWELL – Patrolman Jesse Moore has worked in the Howell Police Department for 15 years, but he has never had a partner like Opus.
Moore, 40, was in regular patrol until August 2016, when he began working with Opus, a 20-month-old Belgian Malinois from the Netherlands. The pair trained together from September through April as Opus was taught patrol work and narcotics detection. They are now assigned to the department’s K-9 unit.
“I still have a lot to learn,” Moore said during a recent interview. “It’s kind of like when you become a police officer and you get out of the academy. You learned everything you were supposed to learn, but you still have to go out there and learn the job.
“It’s the same here, I learned everything I was supposed to (with Opus), but I’m still learning a lot every day. I’m learning about Opus, what works and what doesn’t work and it’s going to take some time.”
Opus was initially trained in patrol work, which includes criminal apprehension, building searches and tracking. That training lasted from September through January.
“There are situations where it might not be safe for a human, but you can deploy a canine to help protect an officer,” Moore said. “Dogs can track a human scent through the woods if someone breaks into a building and runs into the woods, or they can track a missing child or a missing disabled adult.”
Following a two-week break, Moore and Opus started 12 weeks of training in drug detection from January through April. Opus was taught to detect marijuana, hashish, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine in cars and buildings.
“A dog’s nose is incredibly more powerful than a human’s nose,” Moore said. “They can smell things that humans would have no chance in smelling, which is very beneficial.”
Moore described the difference between working with a police dog and a fellow officer.
“Obviously I have to take care of the dog when I get home. He is a pet when I take him home so I have to take care of him when he is off-duty. I have been a dog owner my entire life, so I don’t mind taking care of him.
“At work it has taken a little time to get used to having a dog in the back of the car. It’s an adjustment to get used to making sure he is getting taken care of, being fed, getting water and going to the bathroom. It is taking time to get used to, but I’m getting there,” Moore said.
“I think if you ask most police officers who like dogs, then (working with a K-9 officer) would be something they would want to do. Only about 1 percent of police officers are able to do it. It has always been a dream of mine and it was finally something that was able to come through.
“It’s cliche to say, but Opus knows when he is working and when he’s not. He knows when he is home and once he gets in the car he knows he’s at work. … He looks forward to going to work,” Moore said.
Moore said it takes a commitment from the municipality and the police department to establish a K-9 unit.
“The (police department) let me leave for almost nine months of training … I am very fortunate my chief had the faith in me to be able to do it and that I’m in the position I am in now,” he said.
The officer said he is still learning about working with a canine partner.
“I have been a police officer for going on 16 years and I have learned a lot over those years, but this feels like a completely new job.
“I look forward to coming to work every day because it is something new and because I am learning something new every day, and it puts me in situations I have never been put in before.
“I love my job, but it is a whole different experience. It doesn’t feel like the same job anymore, which isn’t a bad thing,” Moore said.