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May 7, 2008 2:53 pm US/Eastern
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Handler: K9 Officers Provide Valuable Service
Mt. LEBANON (KDKA) ―
After the shooting death of a Pittsburgh Police canine officer in Mt. Oliver Tuesday, more attention is being paid to the hard work police dogs do in making arrests, finding drugs and protecting police.
While some may consider them to be just a dog, a Mt. Lebanon police officer told KDKA he believes his canine partner is invaluable.
Canine officers are well-trained, they have police badges and are considered police officers under the law in Pennsylvania.
Officer Michael Smakosc says they also form bonds with their partners that last a lifetime.
Smakosc's canine partner is Sundy, a 6-year-old German shepherd and member of the police department.
His specialty is finding narcotics.
Smakosc said Sundy proved his value early on by refusing to quit after he found a small quantity of cocaine in a Bridgeville bust.
"He keeps coming back to this desk," said Smakosc. "He's a new dog and I'm a new handler. I'm like 'What are you doing.' He finally gets a running start, jumps on this desk and sticks his heads in the rafters and pulls out a big sack of crack cocaine. That was one of our first shots out."
Sundy was born in Hungary and trained in the U.S.
He's been with the Officer Smakosc for five years and is well adept at tracking, doing searches and sniffing out suspects hiding in buildings.
"He's certified in finding people, stuff people have dropped… articles and narcotics," said Smakosc. "What you see with your eyes, he's seeing with his nose. Just another resource we have."
Now, Officer Smakosc has gotten to the point where he doesn't want to work without his partner, who under state law is a real police officer.
When he's not working, Sundy is a real member of the family.
"I take him home every night," said Smakosc. "I have a 5-year-old and she has learned the commands and walks him around the street like a big shot."
Smakosc says his partner is dependable, ready to work every day and for those reasons, and many more, he considers his police canine partner irreplaceable.
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