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San Antonio
Police Department
K-9 DETAIL |
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History of the K-9 Detail
The SAPD K-9 Detail was started in November
of 1963, and was called the "K-9 Patrol". At first the officers kept the canines at their
homes in kennels, and an off-duty officer would pick up all
the canines in one vehicle and bring them to the
main police station. The K-9 Patrol worked only the night
shift, and the officers brought their canines with them to
roll call. The first canines were donated by San Antonio
citizens to the Police Department, and were trained by
the officers. The first canines were trained to search
for people and defend their handler, if attacked.
After a few years the canine officers were issued
take-home vehicles so they could transport their canines
themselves. The vehicles were specially outfitted for
the canines. By 1978 the K-9 Patrol switched to pick-up
trucks outfitted with campers. It had been found that the
canines worked better if they were acclimated to the
weather conditions, instead of riding around in an
air-conditioned car or truck.
Below is an old photo of the 1963 K-9 Patrol assembled.
Left to
right are: Patrolman Ben Hart and Lobo, Patrolman Leroy
Britsch and Prince, and Patrolman Thomas Foose with
Rocky. |
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During the first 30 years of operation, all canines in the
K-9 Patrol were "Patrol Canines".
In 1993 the San Antonio Police Department acquired its first Narcotics
Canine, and since that time the K-9 Detail has grown to
its present size of 19 canines (Narcotics Canines,
Patrol Canines and Cadaver canines, plus additional two Bomb Canines) and 13 police handlers.
Canine Job Descriptions
The San Antonio Police Department
uses four kinds of canines: Patrol Canines, Narcotics
Canines, Search and Rescue Canines, and Bomb Canines.
(Bomb Canines are assigned to the Bomb Squad.
A canine can be trained
to do all jobs, and most of the canines are cross-trained to be dual-purpose canines. The "job
descriptions" for the SAPD canines are:
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PATROL CANINE |
Used to search for people (missing persons, lost
children, lost elderly people, and criminals, such as
burglars, robbers, car thieves, etc.). These canines are
also trained to attack on command. The only time they
will attack without a command is to protect their
handler. |
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NARCOTICS CANINE |
Trained to find illegal drugs (heroin, cocaine,
marijuana, metamphetamines). |
SEARCH AND RESCUE CANINE |
Trained to find an individual, based on the individual's scent. Used to
locate missing children, elderly persons, or other lost or missing
individuals. |
The SAPD K-9 DETAIL IN THE 2000s
The K-9 Detail currently
consists of 13 handlers and 1 Sergeant.
The unit is transitioning from single purpose canines to duel purpose canines.
There are 17 canines that function as Narcotics, Search and Rescue and Patrol canines.
The supervisor has
two cadaver canines for a unit total of 19 canines. (Additionally, there are two bomb canines on the bomb squad.)
SAPD's K-9 Detail has a strong
record of success in finding illegal drugs in some of the
most difficult and unlikely hiding places. Amounts
vary from month to month, but the SAPD K-9 Detail
is often responsible for locating and seizing many grams
of methamphetamines and heroin, many pounds of cocaine, and
several hundreds of pounds of marijuana, along with
hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash associated with
the seized drugs.
Narcotics Canine Searching a Vehicle
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Canine Training and Daily Care
Training and re-training
continues throughout
the career of each canine, and the K-9 Detail spends
approximately 80-90 hours each month in Patrol Canine
training exercises.
SAPD Narcotics Canines
are obtained from and trained
by Hill Country Dog Center. The officers who work with
the Narcotics Canines attend the Hill Country training class
together with their assigned dogs.
The canine members of the SAPD K-9 Detail
are kennelled at their handlers' homes. Although not a
"family pet", the dogs are members of each handler's
family. Handlers are quick to point out that
all canines are "working dogs", not
pets. Because these animals are so well trained, and have
stable, obedient personalities, they fit well into
the officers' families, and are properly obedient and
respectful around the officers' children or family pets.
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