The Moniteau County Sheriff's Office will soon have K-9 Officer Apollo on staff to help lower the workload on K-9 Officer Mizzou.
As anyone who reads the news on felony drug-related arrests has noticed, K-9 Officer Mizzou and her partner, Sheriff Tony Wheatley, really have been working hard. Mizzou is a trained drug dog, who is nearing five years old. She is a German Shepherd.
K-9 Officer Apollo and his partner, Lt. Kevin Morse, are currently in training and expect to begin field work in early December. The pair are almost halfway through their training in Boone County. Apollo is training to be a dual purpose K-9 officer. When fully trained, Apollo, a Belgian Malinois about two years old, will be a certified patrol dog trained in tracking, search, as well as narcotics.
According to several sources, training of a new dog begins with simple, slow activities, which include a lot of play time. That is especially necessary for a Belgian Malinois, according to his partner, Morse, because they are "always a hyperactive breed." He said that at the training center in Boone County, the dogs are each given a piece of old, one-inch yellow fire hose. When not working, Apollo catches his yellow "ball," chases it, throws it, and spends a lot of time chewing it.
"He loves it," Morse said. The piece of fire hose is really tough, and considering the use it gets that's a good thing.
The dogs start with hunting for their toys. Odors, both drug and human, are added to the toys. The dog is eventually trained to find those odors. After they discover something, they are supposed to be looking for, they are rewarded with praise and a short playtime. The trust between the K-9 Officers and their partners is continually built up during the training sessions.
The training is 8-9 hours each day, Monday through Friday, for the 14 dogs in the class at the Boone County Events Center (the old Boone County fairgrounds). They train in groups of four or five. One day a week, there is night-time training. The dogs and their handlers train in tracking, in different terrain, including woods, with much of it being obedience training, with both Apollo and Morse, learning commands primarily in the Dutch language.
Since the dog and handler work together every day, travel together and live in the home together, and may be risking their lives together, they build a strong bond.
A moment of pride was evident, when it was reported that Apollo was at the top of his class at the halfway point of the training.
When the training is complete, Apollo will be a patrol dog, specially trained in tracking and narcotics detection. In addition to the basic four pharmaceuticals of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and heroin, Apollo is learning how to detect four to six additional substances.
When Tony Wheatley was sworn in as sheriff of Moniteau County, he was reported to have asked then-chief deputy Morse what he wanted to do.
"I want to be a K-9 officer," Morse replied.
With various fundraisers and donations to pay for the dog and the training, Morse is getting his wish. He and Apollo expect to pass the test to be certified Dec. 2 and be active in the field Dec. 3.
With two K-9 officers and their handlers in the field in Moniteau County, there could be even more drug intervention in the area.