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Published on 12/04/1995 All articles from this issue

Santa claws is coming to town; police K-9 due by holidays

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

The Los Altos Police Department is making its list, checking it twice and might receive its long-anticipated K-9 officer during the holidays.

"I think Santa Claus will deliver us a dog," said Chief Lucy Carlton.

She said that a dog arrived recently, but that it wasn't up to the Los Altos specifications.

"The trainer said it was not the right dog for us," Carlton said.

Last night at the Los Altos City Council meeting, Carlton accepted another $600 of donations from residents who have been contributing to the purchase of a dog and the set-up of a K-9 program in Los Altos.

Of the $20,000 raised so far, $17,000 has come from three sources, Carlton said. The Los Altos Kiwanis sold noses at the Pet Parade in May; the Los Altos Rotary Club sold tiles that are in the downtown Plaza at Main and State streets; and the Los Altos Homeowners League raised money through private donations.

"They (the three groups) are the movers and shakers behind the major fund raising," Carlton said.

Marge Bruno, president of the Los Altos Rotary Club, said that "Rotary has a history of responding to the needs of the city, to things that will benefit the citizens." She said that Rotary bought the Jaws of Life for the Los Altos Fire Department.

City Council blessed the K-9 program for Los Altos at its July 25 meeting. Since then the police department has been writing policies and procedures, selecting an officer to be the dog's handler and planning for the dog's arrival.

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

A patrol car must be modified for the dog. A platform will be added where the will dog ride. The car doors are changed so the dog's handler can open them automatically with a garage door opener to let the dog out of the car, said Los Altos Police Sgt. Tom Connelly in an earlier interview. Connelly coordinates the Los Altos K-9 program. Kennels will be built at the station and at the officer's home.

Once the dog arrives there is four weeks of basic training for the officer and the dog, Connelly said.

The dog arrives knowing commands in German, Carlton said, so its handler must learn them.

"You don't modify the dog. You modify the handler," she said.

Police officers have indicated that the dog may be on the streets of Los Altos by February.