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Published on 08/07/1995 All articles from this issue

LA council blesses a K-9 program

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

The Los Altos Police Department is going to the dogs.

City Council blessed the addition of a K-9 program to the city's police department at its July 25 meeting.

Sgt. Tom Connelly, coordinator of the Los Altos K-9 program, hopes to order a dog in mid-September, and said it may be here by early November.

Then the dog and its handler, a Los Altos police officer yet to be named, will spend four weeks together in basic training, five days a week.

"You can't just pick up a dog and go hit the street," said Officer Kevin Costa, a Mountain View K-9 handler.

Once the dog and its handler are certified by a K-9 evaluator, they are ready to work.

"We will have a team on the street by Jan. 1," Connelly said.

Four to five Los Altos police officers have expressed an interest in being a K-9 officer.

"It's a major, major commitment," Connelly said, "not only in your job but also in your private life."

The dog lives with the officer and becomes part of the family.

"But it's not your normal house pet," Costa said. "It's highly trained. I wouldn't take it to a family barbecue. The dog is a tool. I carry a gun, but I wouldn't take it to the barbecue. "

The K-9 officers earn extra money for the additional work they do. Los Altos has not yet decided how much that will be. In Milpitas and Mountain View, the K-9 officers receive 5 percent more pay.

Most K-9 dogs come from Germany when they are 18 months to 2 years old and are German shepherds. The handler here (K-9 police officer) must learn commands in German.

"You don't modify the dog," said Los Altos Police Chief Lucy Carlton. "You modify the handler."

The K-9 program will cost $23,000 for the first two years. So far, the community has raised $19,100, Carlton said.

The dog, which comes trained and with a one-year warranty against physical defects, costs $6,500.

A patrol car must be modified. A platform is built into the back where the dog rides. The doors get changed so the dog's handler can open them automatically with a garage door opener, and the dog can get out of the car, if needed, to protect the officer.

Kennels will be built at the station and at the officer's home. There's the cost of maintenance training, dog food and health insurance for the dog, Connelly said.

In Milpitas, a K-9 "took a stabbing," said Sgt. Ed Cardoza, in charge of the Milpitas Police Department's K-9 program. "He got excellent medical treatment. That dog took the knife for me."

And that's what K-9s do, proponents said: They search, track and protect their officer.

As Connelly said, "You have a partner with you all the time."