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Police Dogs Show Off In Lakeland Competition

Chris Urso/The Tampa Tribune

John Schweigart with Stafford Township, N.J. Police runs with his K-9 Lysol during an agility event.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2007

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Video Of The Trials

LAKELAND - At almost 8 years old, Rex is about through. He has had a remarkable run, though, been through a lot. He had his share of busts and sniffed out enough lost kids. But, with a nagging back injury, he just didn't have the umph to get over that 6-foot obstacle.

Rex, with no regrets, is in his last competition with others less than half his age.

Rex is a police dog, and he came to Lakeland this week for the U.S. Police Canine Association's National Police Dog Trials. Dogs and handlers from law enforcement agencies across the nation are vying for the title of, well, top dog.

Rex and his longtime handler and lifelong pal and partner, Keith Lewis, have a lot in common. A few years ago, Rex had to undergo back surgery because of some fused discs. At the same time, Lewis required back surgery as well, he said.

The two recuperated together.

Lewis said Rex is at his last competition and will retire soon to spend days lounging around Lewis' household in O'Fallon, a small town about 25 miles west of St. Louis. There he will decompress from a career in law enforcement and start taking care of the officer's family instead of the town's residents.

Because he didn't make the barrier — when other, younger dogs leaped over it easily — Rex likely won't win the event, which concludes Thursday. Lewis is not disappointed in his shepherd mix, who shows enough heart to always be a winner in the officer's eyes.

"He's almost 8," Lewis said after the event on a hot and steamy soccer field this morning. "He's an exceptional dog."

Of course, every handler here would say the same thing; all 132 of them. Each year, the national competition for police dogs takes place in different parts of the country.

"We have dogs from all over the country, as far away as Idaho," said Lakeland police Sgt. Ed Cain, the organizer. The number is up from last year, when 118 participated in the trials in Minnesota.

All the dogs here today earned the right. They all finished with top qualifying scores at regional competitions, he said.

"These," he said gazing over the field, "are the best of the best."

The competition took a year to plan, and volunteers are key to carrying it off, he said.

Twenty-two judges oversee events that test skills such as agility, obedience, and the ability to find things such as spent shotgun shells in tall grass and suspects in boxes.

With all the dogs, there are bound to be some canine differences of opinions.

"Sometimes there are scrapes, but the people here know which ones to keep separated," Cain said.

All the dogs this year are either German or Dutch shepherds or Belgian Malinois, he said.
"They're the most reliable."

Joe Litzinger, also with the O'Fallon Police Department, held Rocky on a leash. Rocky just finished his agility drill and was resting in the splotchy shade of a tall pine tree. He watched others climb the ladder and hop over the obstacles.

Rocky, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, is participating in his second national trials. Litzinger said Rocky's claim to fame in O'Fallon is that he once sniffed out 100 pounds of marijuana sealed inside four tires of the car of a suspected drug dealer.

Rocky was frisky this morning despite the heat, his head snapping back and forth, watching the competition and the people standing around.

Paul Bryant, who is in charge of the judges, hollers when they are ready for the next entrant. Bryant, who has been a dog handler for the Philadelphia Police Department for 24 years, loves his work.

"I enjoy it," he said, "and I enjoy judging it."

Dogs nowadays are more controlled than in years past, he said, a fact that can be attributed to liability.

"Who wants a dog chasing and biting everybody?" he asked. More and more dogs live in the homes of their handlers and have to get along with families. So they are better behaved, he said.

All that makes the level of competition here even higher, he said.

And dogs are more specialized. Some sniff out only cadavers, others just drugs, and others just explosives. There are patrol dogs and tracking dogs.

They and handlers get called out all the time. And when they're off, handlers always have to care for their four-pawed partners.

"Dog handling," Bryant said, "is the only 24-7 police job in law enforcement."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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