N.C. officers create trading cards where dogs are the stars
NAGS HEAD, N.C. — Ami, the Nags Head police dog, can sniff out drugs, find crime evidence and track down bad guys, according to her trading card.
The lean, 60-pound Belgian Melanois also loves belly rubs and playing with her favorite chew toy, the card says on the back.
On the front is a photo of Ami lying on the ground next to her kneeling handler, Nags Head police officer Joseph “J.C.” Mitchell.
Mitchell and officer Matt Huntingford, with his K-9 dog Bak, pass out the glossy cards to students at schools or to children playing in a neighborhood. Initiated by Huntingford, the K-9 unit has had the cards for about five years. The department orders the cards from a Denver company receiving 1,000 for $120. They break the ice and spread a positive image of police, Mitchell said.
“Children are attracted to dogs,” he said.
Bak is a 96-pound German shepherd that can tackle suspects and find hidden drugs, but, like Ami, is gentle otherwise.
The handouts look like baseball trading cards except, in this case, the dogs are the stars. The bio on the back of the card is all about the dogs.
Nags Head Church pastor Rick Lawrenson rode with Mitchell and Ami while they were on patrol one night last summer.
“The dog is his partner just as if she were a fellow human officer,” Lawrenson said. “It’s more than just a working relationship.”
A few months ago, Mitchell, 28, was called to a home where a mother was charged with abusing two young children. Officers arrested the mother in the driveway as the traumatized children cried. Mitchell approached them and handed them the trading card featuring Ami, her ears upright and eyes bright.
“It calmed them down,” Mitchell said.
A November post on the Nags Head Police Facebook page showed a slightly bent trading card of Huntingford and Bak with a comment that said, “Today at school, a little girl pulled this out and told me all about how the officer came and took the bad man away from her house. She clung to this card all day and told everyone about the officer that saved them from the very bad man.”
Five-year-old Ami lives at home
with Mitchell and his wife and three children. Her lean build belies her voracious love of food. One of her favorite snacks is Saltine crackers.
Bak and Ami are trained to know the difference between a friendly situation and a dangerous one.
“If I am chilled and relaxed, Ami will be chilled and relaxed,” Mitchell said.
She frequently practices apprehending suspects and snuffling through bags or cars seeking drugs and evidence. He and Ami are called to some of the most threatening crime scenes. Mitchell has a button on his duty belt that, when activated, releases the back door of his patrol car and lets Ami out. She comes running when that happens.
“I’ve got her back and she’s got mine,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell demonstrated Ami’s skills recently behind the Nags Head Police Department.
He commanded Ami to lie down near the back door of the precinct while he walked around the corner of the building, out of her sight, and jabbed a knife in the ground. He called for her to search.
Ami bolted from her spot and into the open grassy area, her nose to the ground intently sniffing back and forth before discovering the knife. She laid down with her nose pointing to the knife indicating her work was done.
As a reward, Mitchell pulled out her favorite chew toy, a black, heavy-duty rubber ball with a short rope attached. She grabbed it and pulled at the toy. At his command, she let it go and waited, eyes staring at the ball. He threw it some 40 feet and Ami raced toward it in a blur, nabbing it on the first bounce. It was an impressive demonstration of her speed and agility.
“She is a natural born athlete,” he said.
Perfect for a trading card.