Training for success

Two of Homewood Police Department’s newest members won’t carry handcuffs or badges, but they’ll be on duty for everything from narcotics work to suspect apprehension.

After completing about 13 weeks of training, K-9 handlers Jordan Suggs and Jake Kidd joined the Homewood police force on patrol in February with their dogs.

Suggs said he’s looking forward to seeing that training pay off and “see the dogs be successful finding drugs, be successful tracking people.”

The two new dogs are young Czech shepherds, purchased by the HPD after two of its older K-9s, Shiloh and Justice, retired in May because of age and health concerns. As of the Homewood Star’s press time, HPD had not released the names of its new canines.

Fifth-grade students in Homewood’s elementary schools participated in a contest to name the dogs, and the Police Department plans to hold ceremonies at the schools in March to announce the names and give prizes to the winning students, as well as introduce the dogs to the schools.

The new pair joins Banjo, Homewood’s third K-9, and all three are trained in narcotics scent detection, tracking and suspect apprehension.

It’s an around-the-clock commitment to become a K-9 handler, Kidd said. The officers keep the dogs at their homes and are responsible for their care even when off-duty. Kidd and Suggs had to fill out applications and be selected by the department to become handlers.

“It’s a big commitment, it’s like adopting a child,” Kidd said.

Suggs, a five-year member of the HPD, said he applied because he enjoys dogs and used to see other K-9s on the job as a kid when he would visit his dad, a fellow officer, at work.

Kidd, who has been a police officer four years, said he likes the more active parts of police work, including foot chases, and being a K-9 handler will enable him to assist officers in more cases.

“You get to do a lot of hands-on work, and our canines will be used for narcotics, tracking — which to me is really fun,” Kidd said.

“You really get to be proactive, which I like doing, and then, too, everybody can rely on you.”

Having a K-9 on-duty in Homewood around the clock once again will be beneficial for the city, Kidd said. He worked on night shift when he first came to HPD in 2016. While Homewood doesn’t have a high crime rate, he said he has seen some of the serious incidents that can occur, especially at night.

“Coming from night shift, the call volume that we have is not too bad, but it is serious. … We’ve had some serious things happen in Homewood. So it’s going to be exciting to use him as a tool,” Kidd said.

Training for multipurpose police dogs is intensive, especially because these dogs are around a year-and-a-half old and still have some puppy behaviors. Kidd and Suggs spent weeks with them at a training facility in Huntsville since October, going through U.S. Police Canine Association courses with otherK-9 handlers.

Suggs is working with his second dog. The first that HPD purchased wasn’t a temperamental fit for the job and did not finish the program, Sgt. Keith Smith said. Suggs restarted the program from the beginning with the new dog in December.

The training program worked up from basic obedience skills to agility, then advancing to “nose work” such as finding narcotics or tracking a hidden person. The last phase of the training is “bite work” — teaching the dogs how and when to apprehend a person.

Both handlers said they have enjoyed watching their four-legged partners pick up new skills.

“They say the tail is their happy meter, so when they get out of the car and work, you can just see the tail’s 90 to nothing,” Suggs said.

Kidd said the training can get repetitive and they take frequent breaks because ofthe dogs’ young age and short attention spans. Teaching them to focus that attention and respond to their handlers’ commands is a slow process.

“You can get frustrated. … Obviously, you don’t speak the same language,” Kidd said.

It’s all treated as a big game for the dogs, Kidd said. They are rewarded with a favorite toy when they succeed, and both handlers said the dogs are excited to go to work.

“They have small attention spans … but it’s crazy how fast they can pick up what you tell them,” Suggs said.

Kidd noted a police dog is not at all like a family pet, despite living with their handlers. They are bred and trained to be energetic, focused on their work and aggressive when needed in order to make a good K-9 partner. 

Kidd described his dog as a “wild thing” during the early stages of his training.

“He’s very hyper but he does listen. All the dogs are really picking it up quickly, what we’re teaching them. It’s amazing to see the wheels turning,” Kidd said during the training program.

Naming the new K-9s with help from Homewood students is a tradition for the HPD, as Shiloh and Justice also received their names from elementary essay contests.

The new dogs are the fourth and fifth ones the HPD has had as part of the department.

Prior to completing his training, Kidd said he was looking forward to getting out on patrol with his new partner on evening and night shifts and seeing what he can do as he gets accustomed to his new job. Kidd said he thinks his K-9 will be a “force multiplier” for the work he and his fellow officers do.

“I really look forward to seeing what he can do on the street,” Kidd said.