Annual K9 workshop underway in Perry

Police dogs from all over the United States are making themselves at home this week in Perry, along with their handlers, for the seventh annual South Georgia K9 Training and Certification Workshop at the Georgia National Fairgrounds.

The workshop is hosted annually by the Dooly County and Houston County Sheriff’s Offices to offer K9 teams training and certification with officials from the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association (NNDDA). Also assisting are the Perry Police Department and the Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit in Perry.

Training began Monday and will end Thursday with an evening banquet, where Myron Mixon with BBQ Pitmasters will provide the meal. Awards will also be given out in different areas of training.

Lt. Marsha Peavy with the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office, who has been with the department and K9 unit since 1993, said an award is also given in memory of Dennis Messman, a certifying official for the NNDDA who died from cancer a few years ago, to someone who has given their all to help others. They also have raffles and door prizes, which Peavy thanked the local businesses that donated a lot of the items.

She said the workshop isn’t just for certification; it’s also for problem solving.

“Dogs are not perfect, handlers are not perfect,” she said. “We have to go through different trainings to make sure that our dogs stay on top of the game.”

There are about 85 teams (handler and dog) from all over the United States, including Alaska, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas and Missouri, participating in this week’s workshop. Classroom training is conducted in the morning and then they go out and train in different areas in the afternoon.

Instructors include officials from Alaska, Wyoming, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Customs and Border Protection who teach courtroom testimony.

Peavy said also very involved in the workshop is the National Criminal Enforcement Association (NCEA), which is an organization that was founded in 1999 as a tribute to slain Villa Rica Georgia Police Capt. Robbie Bishop.

Bishop was one of the original pioneers of pro-active criminal enforcement and its teachings. Since 1999, professionals have joined NCEA from countries around the world. The organization’s mission is to promote criminal enforcement, increase officer safety awareness, educate active law enforcement and support the families of their members in times of crisis. Peavy noted NCEA will help the families of Peach County Deputy Daryl Smallwood and Sgt. Patrick Sondron, who were recently killed in the line of duty.

Additionally, organization We Ride to Provide, founded by Holly Cripps, will honor fallen police dogs by having a special service during the workshop.

Peavy said a few of the breeds commonly used for police work are German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Labrador Retrievers and Bloodhounds. She said the dogs have to be tested in the areas of obedience, narcotics, tracking, patrol and explosives.

She said some of their training areas include the Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit, which provides a helicopter for training purposes.

“The reason for the helicopter is if an officer or dog should get hurt and they have to be flown out of the woods if they’re tracking, then the team has to be acclimated to the helicopter to know that they can be flown somewhere without the dog freaking out,” Peavy explained.

Other detection areas include vehicle searches, luggage and boxes, open areas and buildings.

Peavy said narcotic detection dogs are trained to find marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and all derivatives. Explosive dogs will have about 18 different odors.

She noted during training, the dogs work for a toy, from a rubber hose to a PVC pipe, which is associated with the odor of narcotics. Some dogs are imports from Europe or have been adopted but have gone through a proper selection test to see if they are trainable and possess the drives that it takes to be trained.

Patrol officer Max Kalkstein has been with the Riverdale Police Department for two and a half years and is one of the new K9 officers in his department. His dog is named “Henzo,” which he’s had for six weeks. He just recently finished Peavy’s K9 school last week.

Kalkstein said the workshop has been an eye-opening experience, especially when it comes to drug interdiction. He’s hoping that by being a K9 officer that he can help decrease gang and narcotic activity in his community and “to increase the quality of life for our citizens.”

Sgt. Anthony Wade Catlett, who’s been with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office for nine and a half years, is the K9 supervisor. He’s been a police officer for 24 years. He started in the K9 unit in 2008. The last dog he worked with was a Bloodhound named “Lucius,” that is now with another handler.

Catlett said for the last three years, he’s helped out with instruction and tracking at the annual workshop. He said what he gains from it is that he gets to watch a lot of dog teams work and see different methodologies of training and the application of those methodologies.

“It’s a very good way of communicating with other agencies and you get to see what they’re doing and how they’re operating. You get to share a lot of experiences,” he said, adding it’s an overall good, positive experience.

Lt. Clay Chambers has been with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office for 17 years. He’s been with the K9 unit since 2006. His dog is named “Dany.”

“We got very blessed with the sheriff from Dooly County [Craig Peavy] and Sheriff [Cullen] Talton to come together to help us host this event for a lot of agencies that don’t get to go off to bigger places to have it,” Chambers said. “It’s here, local, so we get a lot more people who are able to come and benefit from it, and then in turn, we’re able to give some good training and see the result throughout middle Georgia and other areas.”

He said they had a great turnout this year, and it seems to get bigger every year.

“We look forward to it and it’s truly what we enjoy doing,” Chambers said. “We love being able to give back and help the K9 community and being able to make a better team and better dogs so we have better results within the communities.”

He said the K9 unit is an extremely valuable tool in law enforcement.

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