Pups call it a career
Two K-9 cops retire from YPD after a combined 15 years on the force
After apprehending countless criminal suspects and getting drugs off the city’s streets, two Belgian Malinois K-9 officers will be able to remain with the handlers they worked alongside of over the years, once they officially retire from the Yuma Police Department.
Both 10-year-old Mitch and 9-year-old Barry were purchased in August 2011 from Adlerhorst International Inc. in Holland, and had received specialized training to work as dual purpose drug detection and patrol dogs for eight and seven years, respectively.
However, the physical demands of the job have taken its toll on the two canine cops, so YPD has recommended that they be retired due to their ages, their length of time on duty and no longer having the endurance and agility they need to continue working.
“There are a number of reasons why these dogs retire,” said officer Matthew Woen, who is Mitch’s handler. “Each police dog is different as to how long they can keep working, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure they have a high quality of life after retirement.”
The Yuma City Council has already unanimously voted to transfer ownership of Mitch, who has one career bite during an arrest, to officer Woen, and Barry to his handler, office Zachery Miner, although the processes haven’t been
completed for either yet.
“It has been a pleasure having Barry. He has been an awesome dog,” Miner said. “He is very social and very good at home.”
While Barry has been off the streets and enjoying the good life since December, Woen said Mitch still comes to work with him everyday, along with his new dog — Kyra, a nearly fouryear-old female Belguim Malinios.
Woen explained that he has had Kyra for about three weeks and he is still in the process of training her. Mitch can’t officially retire until the new dog is certified, which should be sometime in July.
“I have two kennels in my Tahoe right now. Mitch is still there in case I need him,” Woen said. “We won’t deploy a new dog until it is fully trained.”
Meanwhile, Barry seems to be adjusting to his retirement just fine, according to Miner, whose new fourlegged partner is a 3-yearold Belguim Malinios named Adaro.
“He seems to be having a good time,” Miner said of Barry, who once found 600 pounds of marijuana hidden in a vehicle. “He still wants to go out and do stuff, he just doesn’t have to go after bad guys anymore.”
Miner said he has been doing everything he can to help Barry with the transition back to being a normal dog, which includes him having a doggie bed in their room, where he sleeps every night.
He is also out of his kennel a lot more and romping around with the family’s other two dogs, a female German Shepard and a Chihuahua.
“He does still act out a bit, and chew on things he shouldn’t. He even pulled some food off the kitchen counter not too long ago,” Miner said. “He still has the energy at the end of the day, it just doesn’t last as long. He is little bit of a couch potato now.”
While both Woen and Miner enjoy working with their new dogs, they admit they miss the partners they had come to rely on over the years, dogs with the experience needed to help keep them safe from harm.
There is a pretty big learning curve with a new dog, they said. For example, handlers have to teach their dogs to find drugs. And, since they haven’t been through the same, oftentimes dangerous, situations as veteran dogs, they still have a lot to learn what to do and how to react each time they are exposed to something new.
“There is a lot more unpredictability,” Miner said. “When you know your dog is going to do what it needs to do, you don’t have to worry about it. You can focus on yourself and the others around you.”
While Adaro may not have the experience yet, Miner said he believes the dog can become just as good as a partner as Barry once was.
“I like the new dog a lot. He has a lot of good habits, works really hard and full of energy,” Miner said. “Barry is a lot more of a mellow dog. He was more methodical and didn’t really get to excited about stuff.”
As for Kyra, well Woen said she is extremely energetic can’t wait to get to work each day.
“The new dog sees me getting ready and she starts yelping and spinning around in his kennel, because he wants to hurry up and go,” Woen said.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 5396854. Find him on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.