Police Dog Ending Career

Canine To Retire Early Next Year

By Dan Craft

Posted: November 27, 2009 at 4:41 a.m.

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An eight-year veteran of the Springdale Police Department will retire next year, leaving just one dog in the department.

Aros, a German shepherd, has hip problems and his energy is not what it once was, said Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley.

“Both our dogs are aging, and we knew it wouldn’t be long before we had to take them out of service. That time is fast approaching,” she said.

Aros’s retirement will leave Aldo, a 7-year-old, as the sole police dog. No decision has been made about whether the department will replace Aros, but if it does, it will likely be with a dog trained in drug interdiction, O’Kelley said.

“Interdiction is really where we use them,” she said. “Tracking or officer protection is rare.”

Trained dogs cost about $10,000, plus the cost of training a handler, said Sgt. Robert Sanchez, who oversees the police dogs and their handlers.

Aros and Aldo aren’t the only four-legged officers in Northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville has three dogs, while several other city departments and sheriff’s offices in Washington and Benton counties have two dogs. At least five other departments have one dog.

The Arkansas State Police use police dogs, but none are stationed with Troop L in Springdale, Capt. Lance King said.

Bentonville and the University of Arkansas both have dogs trained to detect explosives rather than narcotics. Sgt. Russell Hines, who is transferring from Springdale to Bentonville when the regional bomb squad moves, owns a bomb-sniffing dog, but he uses the dog only in private consulting work, not for bomb squad operations, O’Kelley said.

Dogs are considered officers, just with fur and extra legs, said Maj. Rick Hoyt of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

“They’re a part of our department, our force,” he said. “We treat them like officers, even though they can’t really make arrests by themselves.”

Both Bella Vista and Elkins are in the process of starting police dog operations. Elkins already has a dog and is training an officer to handle him.

Aros will be the second area police dog taken out of service recently. A Gravette Police Department dog was euthanized after biting a child during a fireworks display earlier this year.

A dog dedicated to drug detection wouldn’t necessarily be a German shepherd or Belgian malinois, the breeds most commonly associated with police work, O’Kelley said.

A new dog, if purchased, would be paid for from drug forfeiture money, she said.

An exact retirement date for Aros hasn’t been set.

“We’re keeping an eye on him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps working until March or April,” O’Kelley said.

Anna Fry contributed to this report.

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