By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
The newest member of the police force is a 15-month-old, 60-pound, black and tan German shepherd from Hungary, and he is currently in training to be able to sniff out illegal narcotics.
| Hillsborough’s ‘imported’ dog
from tougher stock With nearly 60 million dogs in the United States, why are so many police dogs “imported” from European trainers? According to Dietrich Neumahr, owner of Birkenhof Kennels, in Connecticut, whose company recently matched a 15-month-old dog in Hungary with Hillsborough Officer Christopher Engelhardt for the department’s new K9 unit, European dogs are often heartier and tougher than ones bred in the United States. ”When they are born, Europeans let nature take its course, and the weak ones (may not survive),” he said. “Therefore, the dogs are already pretty strong (when they come here).” Most police dogs are between 12 and 24 months old when they are brought to the United States from such countries as Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Slovach Republic, among other locations in Europe, to begin training to work with some of the nation’s finest. The German shepherds are matched up with handlers from police departments across the country to begin training to detect for drugs and bombs, and perform patrol work. ”There are certain breeders who care for these dogs,” Mr. Neumahr said. “They look for dogs that are very strong, but they must be social.” Mr. Neumahr, who has owned his company for 15 years, matches police departments with dogs, mostly from European countries. According to Hillsborough Police Chief Paul Kaminsky whose K9 unit recently acquired the dog from Hungary he had heard excellent recommendations about dogs Mr. Neumahr has found for other departments, including the New York Police Department and the Edison Police Department. ”It just so happens that he chooses dogs from eastern European countries due to the history of proven blood lines,” Chief Kaminsky said. “Furthermore, he regularly travels to Europe and hand picks his dog.” According to Mr. Neumahr, even though training for the K9 dogs which are used by officers to detect drugs, as well as for finding missing persons, among other responsibilities is pretty similar in both Europe and the United States, the fact that European dogs are not pampered makes them more ideal candidates for the tough work required on the police force. German shepherds are normally the dog of choice for police departments because, Mr. Neumahr said, they are prone to be agile and suited for chasing. In addition, he said, some departments choose to use Belgium shepherds, which are more powerful that German shepherds but also much more difficult to handle because of their strength. |
The only problem is police don’t have a name to use when the dog makes his public appearances.
To correct this, the Hillsborough Township Police Department is beginning its “Name our K9 Competition,” giving third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classes throughout the township the opportunity to suggest a public name for the dog.
”Each individual class can vote for one name and submit it to their Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officers,” said Police Chief Paul Kaminsky.
Once all entries are submitted, a panel made up of one member each from the police department, township committee and Hillsborough Municipal Alliance will choose the winning name.
”We are looking for a name that would best suit the dog,” Chief Kaminsky said. “We are looking for creative entries.”
The winning class that comes up with the chosen name will receive a plaque and enjoy a visit by the K9 dog and his handler, Officer Christopher Engelhardt.
”It will be great interaction for the canine with the kids, and will promote the K9 program,” Chief Kaminsky said.
The K9 program was first proposed by the police department in October to enhance police operations by bringing in a specially trained German shepherd dog for use in tracking and detection.
The K9 officer and the dog will be assigned to assist in tracking missing persons, runaways, fugitives and those who may present health or welfare concerns to themselves or others. The unit can also be used to locate evidence at crime scenes, and will be trained to detect the presence of illegal drugs.
Chief Kaminsky has said that, in the past, the police department has had to rely on K9 units from Manville and other surrounding towns, but will be more effective now with their own unit.
In choosing the dog to bring to Hillsborough, Chief Kaminsky said Officer Engelhardt met with breeders, who showed several different animals to see which one would be best suited with the township’s handler.
”We looked at size of the dog versus the size of the handler, and at which personalities clicked,” Chief Kaminsky said. “The chosen dog was fun-loving with a great search instinct.”
In addition, Chief Kaminsky said, the dog, which was brought from Hungary to the United States to be used for law enforcement, comes from an excellent bloodline and trainer.
”The German shepherds are also used for patrol,” he said. “It’s not as intimidating if we have a Labrador golden retriever.”
As of now, Chief Kaminsky said, both the dog and Officer Engelhardt are engaged in an eight-week narcotics training course to learn how to pick up the scent of the drugs. After that, he said, they will have a two-week break before beginning a 12-week patrol dog training course.
”The dog and Officer Engelhardt are building a bond between them,” he said. “There is also obedience training as the dog gets acclimated to the patrol vehicle. But after eight weeks, the dog can be utilized on the road for narcotics searching.”
Overall, Chief Kaminsky said he is glad to be holding the name competition for the kids.
”We thought this would be a positive experience for the community,” he said.
Information about the contest will be distributed to schools in early February and entries are due by Feb. 29.