A Glimpse Into The K9 Unit Of The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Rod Ditrich and his canine partner Rex
0 Shares

 

 

By Laurie O’Brien

Deputy Rod Ditrich and his canine partner Rex

Watching a training session with Thurston County Deputy Sheriff Rod Ditrich and his partner, Rex, is like watching a very intense game of Simon Says.

Rex is a police canine and is commissioned as a deputy sheriff with the Thurston County Sherriff’s Office (TCSO).  One of three dogs assigned to the TCSO K9 Unit, Rex was assigned to Ditrich when he was 11 months old.  The two began training as a team just a few weeks later.  They have forged an unbreakable bond over the past four years, and Ditrich knows, without a doubt, that Rex would sacrifice himself to protect his human partner.  He also knows if that were to happen, he would be devastated.

Rex considers his job a game; his ears are pointed high, and his tail wags the entire time.  He will not move toward his quarry (another deputy wearing protective gear) until Ditrich gives the command.  He will stop in mid-pursuit if told to do so.  Even with someone else trying to distract him, Rex is completely focused on Ditrich, waiting to hear the one voice he responds to above all others.

When he’s tracking his quarry in a building, Ditrich commands Rex to stop in certain locations so he can read the dog’s demeanor.  Rex communicates via his body language, barks, and wags his tail if it is safe for Ditrich to proceed.

Ditrich announces the presence of a dog and gives the suspect an opportunity to surrender.

Like many people, Rod Ditrich considers his dog his best friend.   Rex lives with Ditrich and his family, but technically he is owned by the county.   The family has another dog, another German Shepherd, in fact. Lexie is their pet.  “Rex is part of the family, but he is not our family dog,” explains Ditrich.  “He is incredible in that when he is off duty, he is a totally different dog than when I get in my uniform.  As soon as I grab my black socks or my black shirt or my watch, he knows that it’s work time.”

Ditrich and Rex and the other two TCSO K9 teams are certified through the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) and all three have met the even more rigorous standards set forth by the Washington State Police Canine Association (WSPCA). The WSPCA initial certification requires a minimum of 400 hours of basic training.  Even after all that training, not every team is successful when they are evaluated for certification.

According to Ditrich, “when you get your basic certification, you’re kind of like a 16 year old who just got his license.  You might know how to drive, but you’re not great.”  He estimates it takes a good three to four years for a K9 team to hit its stride.  “Right now with Rex, I’ve just got to follow,” says Ditrich.  “He knows what he’s doing.  I’ve just got to follow along behind him and help him out when he needs it. That’s where all three of our dogs are at right now.”  Four and a half years after the TCSO K9 Unit was formed, all three teams have achieved the level of WSPCA Master Patrol Handler Teams.  They undergo yearly recertification, and they put in a minimum of 20 hours a month of obedience and skill training.

Rex takes down a suspect and holds him until called off by Ditrich.

As Master Generalists, the dogs and their handlers are assigned to general patrol functions and respond to the same calls as any deputy sheriff.  They are also on call 24 hours a day to respond to situations that require tracking fleeing suspects.

The risk involved in pursuing someone is taken on by the dog instead of a human deputy, explains Ditrich. “Instead of putting a person, another cop, in the position of going to find a person who doesn’t want to be found, we’ll send the dog in.”  There are always multiple warnings given, he explains, but more often than not, the fleeing suspect thinks he or she can out run or outsmart the dog.  He has yet to see that work in the suspect’s favor.

Police dogs are taught that it’s okay to bite human beings when they’ve been given the command, and during training exercises, Ditrich lets Rex take down his quarry.  “Our dogs aren’t trained to maul; our dogs are trained to bite and hold,” he explains.  In Rex’s case, it only takes the 70 pound dog a few seconds to knock down a 200 pound man and subdue him.

By the same token, Rex has also been trained to stop on a dime.  A dog, explains Ditrich, is the only tool law enforcement has that can be deployed and then, with a second’s notice, recalled. If the suspect surrenders, Ditrich can call Rex off instantaneously.   “If I shoot my gun, that bullet’s gone.  If I fire my Taser, the probes are going; I can’t stop it.  If I swing my asp, unless I’m quick enough and strong enough to correct that action, 99% of the time, the guy’s going to get hit.  It’s the only thing that I have, and I’m talking literally, that with a half second’s notice, I give my dog one singular command, and if he’s already leaping, he’ll just bounce off the guy, he won’t bite him.  It’s the only thing we have in our arsenal that’s that way.  Everything else, once we’ve deployed it, it’s gone.  It’s too late for the bad guy to give up.”

Once he has been called off his quarry, Rex sits patiently waiting for his next command.  While Ditrich simulates cuffing and taking the suspect into custody, Rex follows him, at heel, all the way to the police cruiser.

“Obedience is the foundation of everything,” explains Ditrich.  “Twenty years ago, the philosophy in law enforcement was that you found the biggest, meanest, gnarliest dog, and that’s what you wanted for a police dog – a dog that would bite anybody, including the handler – because anybody you sent the dog after was going to get bit.  Law enforcement has really evolved in the last twenty years.  Now our philosophy has gone from the biggest, baddest, meanest dog to a dog that is highly trained and highly obedient.”

Rex waits while Ditrich takes a suspect into custody.

Dogs with that kind of drive and intelligence don’t come cheap either.  The average price of a police dog is about $8500, and that is prior to training.  To be considered as a prospect, dogs are carefully screened for attributes like ball drive, obedience and aggression.  Ditrich says that overly aggressive animals are not accepted into the program because the dogs have to be social.   “You want a dog you can take into schools, that you can take into crowds,” he explains.  The focus, as always, is on obedience.  The most common breeds selected for police patrol work are German Shepherds, Dutch Sheperds, and Malinois.

Thurston County’s K9 program is a “no cost” program to tax payers.  Ditrich and the other deputies solicit thousands of dollars a year in cash contributions, goods and services to cover the estimated $12,000 a year it takes to maintain each dog.  Local veterinarians donate free and reduced services.  Royal Canin provides food, and a local group, All Canines Go to Heaven, buys the bullet proof vests and tracking harnesses for the dogs.  “It’s with support like that that we’ve been able to have the K9 program,” says Ditrich.  The three teams serve as ambassadors for the TCSO as well, giving demonstrations at school assemblies and other public functions.

Ditrich has been in law enforcement for 18 years now.  He was in the military prior to working in law enforcement and he’s worked in a variety of units, including SWAT teams.   While many of his previous assignments were exciting, he maintains that working on the K9 Unit is his dream job.   As he says, “I get to go to work every day with my best friend.”

When Rex can no longer do his job, probably at about age 11 or 12, Ditrich will purchase him from the county and Rex will continue to live with him and his family.  You do that sort of thing for a partner who daily puts himself in the line of fire.

For more information about the TCSO K9 Unit or to contribute to the program:

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/sheriff/bureau-field-operations-k9.htm

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares