9781422285060

Dogs on Patrol

Bomb Squad Technician Border Security Dogs on Patrol FBI Agent Fighter Pilot Firefighter Paramedic Search and Rescue Team Secret Service Agent Special Forces SWAT Team Undercover Police Officer

By Beth Landis Hester Dogs on Patrol

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com

© 2016 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3391-7 Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4222-3397-9 EBook ISBN: 978-1-4222-8506-0

First printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Produced by Shoreline Publishing Group LLC Santa Barbara, California Editorial Director: James Buckley Jr. Designer: Bill Madrid Production: Sandy Gordon www.shorelinepublishing.com Cover image: Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hester, Beth Landis.

Dogs on patrol / by Beth Landis Hester. pages cm. -- (On a mission!) Includes index. ISBN 978-1-4222-3397-9 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-4222-3391-7 (series) -- ISBN 978-1-4222-8506-0 (ebook) 1. Police dogs--Juvenile literature. I. Title. HV8025.H47 2016 363.2--dc23 2015004832

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Emergency! …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… 6 Mission Prep …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… 12 Training Mind and Body …….…….…….…….…….…….……. 20 Tools and Technology …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… 32 Mission Accomplished! …….…….…….…….…….…….……. 42 Find Out More …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… 46 Series Glossary …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….……. 47 Index/About the Author… .…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… 48 Contents

Key Icons to Look For

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowl- edge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry con- nected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.

Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here.

Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains termi- nology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

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Emergency!

Courageous and loyal, a police dog is always ready to answer the call when needed.

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“Second District Team—any team in the area—we have a 62B at 525 Jared Street, Langley’s Electronics store.”

Over the police radio in his car, Officer Bob Sedgebeer and his K9 partner, Rue, heard the call from the dispatcher . The “62B” was code for a business burglary in progress. It was just after 1:00 a . m . , so the store was closed; no one would be in there—except a burglar. If that burglar tried to run or hide inside the huge store, however, finding him could be difficult—not to mention dangerous. A human’s senses were no match for the store’s many hiding places. If the suspect hid or ran, there was no one better than a police dog like Rue to sniff him out. First, though, the non-K9 police units nearby would check out the situation. “202—I’ll go,” said a voice over the radio. The first responders were on their way. “277 available if needed,” added Officer Sedgebeer, turning his car toward Jared Street, so he’d be nearby and ready if he was called. Words to Understand apprehending capturing and arresting someone who has committed a crime dispatcher a person who announces emergencies over police radio and helps organize the efforts of first responders handler a human who works with a dog K9 a police dog; comes from “canine,” which literally means “dog” perimeter the border of a shape; in police work, an outer ring of barricades or officers that surrounds an area 7

Rue was in the back of the car, which was specially outfitted to be comfortable for a dog. Rue, however, was anything but relaxed; recog- nizing the sound of the police radio and the re- sponse of his handler , Rue was alert and eager to get to work. His training had taught him just what to do if he was called into action: apprehending suspects was his specialty. Night after night he rode with Officer Sedge- beer on their midnight-to-8:00 a . m . shift. Most were relatively quiet nights, spent driving or walk- ing on patrol without incident. The very sight of the big German shepherd and his partner in the neighborhood helped convince some would-be criminals to stay out of trouble. It looked like this night, however, might offer a little more excite- ment than usual. A few minutes later the call came from Unit 202: “Send the K9 team. We’ve got a break-in.” Officer Sedgebeer turned on his siren and sped to the scene of the crime. It was time to get to work.

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By the time Officer Sedgebeer and Rue ar- rived, the first officers on the scene had set up a perimeter . They had surrounded the store, trapping the thief inside. They quickly told Offi- cer Sedgebeer what they knew: They had seen

Officer Sedgebeer and Rue trained for many weeks to reach the level of expertise needed to go into the field.

movement toward the back of the store; there were no known weapons kept in- side. Then Officer Sedgebeer was shown the broken window where the thief had entered. He called inside to the suspect with a warning: “We’ve got a dog. Don’t make me send him in after you. Come on out.” Often just the threat of being chased by a dog was enough to send suspects scurrying out to surrender…but not this time. After a minute with no response, Officer Sedgebeer called, “Okay, we’re sending in the dog.” He kicked aside some broken glass to make the path safer for Rue. Then he called his partner into action.

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Rue came quickly to the officer’s side, and Sedgebeer guided the dog to the opening the thief had made. Rue sniffed around the opening to pick up the strongest scent. The human officers had used their eyes and ears to pick up clues from this same site: the location of the broken glass, the height and size of the opening, the noise of the

Police dogs are trained to be fierce on command, ready to defend their partners, and to help make an arrest.

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movement they had heard coming from the back of the store. To Rue’s keen nose, this spot also held other information: The scent of the burglar was strong—the thief’s effort and stress of break- ing through the door in the first place had made his unique scent stronger. Rue lifted his head to in- dicate to Sedgebeer that he had what he needed. The chase had begun. Later, in the final chapter “Mission Accomplished,” find out how Rue helped bring this case to a successful end. First, read about how many kinds of working dogs help keep people safe.

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Chapter 1

A search dog uses its keen nose to find the scent of people trapped after a disaster collapsed this building.

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Mission Prep

Since police K9 units became common in the United States in the 1970s, dogs such as Rue have become an invaluable tool for law enforcement. In fact, the use of dogs as helpers to humans is nothing new: Since ancient times, dogs have been used in war, and for more than 100 years they have helped in detective work. Dogs at Work Today, dogs do many jobs to help their human partners keep the peace, solve mysteries, and even save lives. As key members of search-and-rescue teams, dogs use their strong sense of smell—50 times stronger than that of a human—to seek out people who are lost or trapped. Often, these dogs retrace the steps of human searchers to pick up a trail the humans may have missed. Dogs can be especially useful where it is hard to see because of dark- ness, heavy brush, water, or the rubble of an avalanche or fallen building.

Words to Understand contraband material that is illegal to possess search-and-rescue the work of finding survivors after a disaster occurs, or the team that does this work 13

In airports across the country, more than 800 dogs (mainly retrievers, pointers, and a mixed breed called a vizslador) are hard at work every day. They sniff and screen passengers, packages, and planes for explosives and illegal drugs. In air- port warehouses, they also search huge amounts of cargo to be sure there is nothing dangerous or illegal among the thousands of boxes being shipped. Their quick work keeps air traffic moving and travelers safe. In prisons, dogs help search out drugs and other contraband , including cell phones. In most locations, there would be nothing suspicious about a phone. In a prison, however, such a hid- den phone could be a way for inmates to conduct illegal activities from inside the prison walls. These dogs are specially trained to sniff out electronics that human prison guards might miss. Dogs also act as detectives: Their keen noses can sniff out the chemicals criminals might use to start a fire on purpose—a dangerous crime known as arson. After a fire is put out, even amidst the strong

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