At the Howl-O-Ween Pawty held on October 31st, part of the event schedule was a special K-9 Demonstration by the Battle Creek Police Department. The weekend event was partially a fundraiser for the project to acquire Skube as a new dog for the K-9 Unit. Skube is a Belgian Malinois, which is a variety of Belgian Shepherd which is a hard working, confident and alert breed that is amply suited for police work.
The K-9 Demonstration held at the event featured individual skills that the dogs are taught to help law enforcement. They demonstrated finding skills for both drugs and lost items that may have been dropped by someone the police were pursuing. They also showed the special headgear which the dogs sometimes wear which offers them ear protection, goggles, a camera and light for night work.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the demonstration was when one of the officers wore a protective suit and garnished a weapon, and the K-9 was released after several warnings to drop the weapon, whereas it jumped the officer and bit him on the arm through the padding.
Currently the BCPD has four K-9’s in service. Their names are: Nico, Ace, Felix and Bruzer. The human officers who work directly with the K-9’s are known as ‘handlers’. All of the handlers in the BCPD are members of the National Association of Professional Canine Handlers (NAPCH).
The BCPD is expecting to add a new dog (Skube) to the K-9 program to replace another that is expected to retire soon. Skube is named after Major Steve Bush, who is in charge of the regional K9 training group and known by the nickname ‘Skuba Steve’ my the trainees he has mentored.
Honor Community Credit Union has launched a campaign to raise the money needed to fund Skube for the BCPD, and if you would like to donate to the campaign click on the image of Skube, or go here.
