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K9 Fundraiser Is Going To The Dogs
Writer: Shana Livigni
Photo Credit: Mary O'Keefe
Posted: November 6, 2009
Andrade family: David, Gabriele, Michael (3), Christopher (6), K-9 Ofc Quwai and Glendale police Ofc. Aaron Hamilton at a recent public outreach event. Photo by Mary O'Keefe
The Glendale Police Department hosted a fund raising event at Verdugo Park a few weeks ago when Officers Robert Wynkoop, Maribel Feeley, Shawn Sholtis and Aaron Hamilton showed off their highly skilled German shepherd K-9 partners Marlin, Yudy, Sam and Quwai. The (human) officers spent time answering questions and sharing stories with the folks who attended. This week it’s an inside look at one of those four prestigious officer teams – Ofc. Hamilton and his K-9 partner Quwai.
The pair typically work 10½ hours a day, four days a week, but they work as they are needed and every shift brings new situations. Officer Hamilton outlined a day in his life with the Glendale Police Department’s K-9 division:
“Quwai and I go to briefing at 2:30 p.m. We learn about special events/issues around the city and who we will be working with for the evening to come. We are on the streets until 1 a.m. and will get called back if need be.
Quwai and I are first responders. We go to traffic collisions, building alarms, initiate traffic enforcement matters and often respond to help out the other patrol officers on calls for service.” He continued, “If things are not busy we are training in the local parks, conducting public relations work, catching up with office work, conducting some proactive police work on the streets etc. I really try to focus on making positive contacts with public. Customer service is very important in the way we conduct business. There is a really big focus on customer service at the Glendale Police Department. It’s about building relationships with the people we come in contact with.”
Officer Hamilton has been with the Glendale Police Dept. for the past 10 years and has been a K-9 officer for the past three with his 6-year-old black German shepherd Quwai.
“Quwai does hard surface tracking, finds evidence, but his most favorite things are looking for ‘the bad guys’ when we’re looking for narcotics,” he confides. “He likes to do PR work. He likes going to schools, he likes playing tug-of-war with the kids and that’s the neat thing that we have. Yeah, we can go out and find bad guys and drugs, but for kids to come to their schools and meet a uniformed police officer, and you throw a dog into the picture, it’s really neat to see their faces light up and then the questions come and there’s no more being shy at all.”
Quwai was trained in Germany for the first three years of his life and then became an “official” K-9 officer for the Glendale Police Department (he wears a visible GPD officer’s shield on his collar). It was then he was assigned to Ofc. Hamilton who was thrilled to be with the elite K-9 unit. They train once a week at a ranch in Ventura – Hamilton trains as a handler to be able to train Quwai which requires a yearly state certification.
These sessions also include weekly evaluations so working together as partners is an ongoing process. If a trainer sees something he doesn’t like, whether it’s the dog, the handler or the team, they will be pulled out immediately.
“You have to really have your dog locked on to come out here on the streets to do this work, so the quality control is through the roof to make sure the team is performing the way they should,” said Hamilton. “It’s a lot of pressure but it’s also a lot of fun.”
This team seems to have no problem getting along, during training and on and off the job. Quwai lives with Hamilton and they come home together, go to work together and he even takes his K-9 on vacation with him. Amazingly, Quwai knows the difference – he gets excited when they leave for work and winds down when they get home. The pair are inseparable friends.
The GPD K-9 unit is always looking for buildings and warehouses they can use for training purposes.
Teamwork Leads to Narcotic Sales Arrest
November 2, 2009
On 10-10-2009 Glendale Police Officer Jose Barajas was patrolling the southeast portion of the city when a traffic stop quickly turned into a narcotics investigation. Upon initiating a traffic stop a narcotic offender fled from the vehicle on foot. After a brief foot pursuit the suspect was in custody. Based upon Officer Barajas's training and experience he was aware of the presence of narcotics in the vehicle but was unable to locate them. Although the suspect's vehicle was searched by officers on scene, no contraband was located.
Officer Hamilton and K-9 Quwai were called to the scene. Upon arrival K-9 Quwai was given a command to search the car for illegal narcotics. Within minutes the suspected concealed narcotics were recovered from a hidden compartment area deep in the center console of the vehicle. Approximately 24 individually packaged foil and clear plastic baggies were recovered containing a white substance resembling rock and powdered Cocaine.
Due to K-9 Quwai's hard work training every week a drug dealer has lost his supply of dangerous illegal drugs and may have to answer to several charges in court. We can all thank K-9 Quwai for an outstanding job taking these dangerous drugs off our streets.
This recovery of illegal narcotics from the streets of Glendale would not have been possible without the generosity of the public providing donations to the Glendale Police Foundation to support our K-9 unit. Currently there is no tax money supporting your Glendale Police K-9s. We can not thank you enough for your continued support.
Click on photos to view larger version.
1st Annual "Glendale K-9s in the Park" Event Proves to be a Huge Success for the K-9 Program
October 26, 2009
The Glendale Police K-9 Unit wants to thank everyone who made this year’s 1st Annual “Glendale K-9s in the Park” a huge success! What started as an idea about a year ago progressed into an event which was enjoyed by thousands of people and their canine friends. Thank you to all of you who spent the day with us. We hope you had fun watching all the dog demonstrations and enjoying the food, band, and kid activities. The K-9 unit had a great time meeting all of you and showing the community what their donations go towards. We also want to thank all of our sponsors, vendors, demo groups, and volunteers for sharing their gift of time, talent, and treasure with us. Without all of your support, this event would not have been as successful as it was.
Special thanks to our 2009 Glendale K-9s in the Park Chief Sponsors!
We are already making plans for next year’s event. Tentatively, we are looking at Saturday, October 9th, 2010. If you would like to participate in next year’s event as a sponsor, vendor, or volunteer, please complete our contact form. Let us know what you are interested in and we will add you to our contact list for next year. We are anticipating an even bigger event for our 2nd Annual “Glendale K-9s in the Park,” so come be a part of it!
Although this year’s event is over, we are still learning from it. We want to hear from all of you who attended this year’s event as a participant, sponsor, vendor, or volunteer. We are hoping to get some great feedback from all of you so that next year’s event can be even better. If you have any suggestions for changes, additions, or any other comments about the event, please complete the contact form. We will read every comment that we receive, so please help us with your input.
Lastly, we are looking for photos from the event. If you have any photos that you would like to share, please email them to GlendaleK9unit@ci.glendale.ca.us. We will post as many as we can for everyone to see.
Thank you again for making this year’s 1st Annual “Glendale K-9s in the Park” a huge success. The event raised much needed funds to not only support the annual maintenance costs of the program, but also to purchase and train new K-9s in the near future. We hope you and your family and friends had a great time and enjoyed spending the day with the Glendale K-9s! See you all next year! Don’t forget to tell a friend.
K-9 Sam Locates Stashed Firearms
August 18, 2009
On August 17th, 2009, officers responded to a call regarding a suspicious circumstance. A witness called the police to report a car that pulled into a vacant lot. The occupants in the car unloaded what appeared to be rifles from the trunk. The witness lost sight of where the occupants went, but moments later, the group got back into the car and took off. The lot is filled with overgrown brush, which would make it nearly impossible for officers to check the lot for discarded firearms. Like all the K-9s in Glendale, K-9 Sam is trained to locate evidence that has fresh human scent on it. K-9 Sam was given the search command and he thoroughly searched a row of thick, overgrown brush. K-9 Sam caught the odor he was looking for and alerted officers to a specific area underneath the brush. Officers located three rifles that were stashed underneath the bushes. The firearms were recovered by officers, keeping curious children from stumbling upon them. It is unknown why the firearms were stashed on the lot.
K-9 Marlin Cleans Up the Neighborhood; K-9 Sam Does the Dirty Work
July 27, 2009
Click on the images above to see a larger version.
On Thursday, June 25th, 2009, Glendale gang officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant at the home of a known gang member with a no-bail warrant for burglary. As officers approached the residence, the front door was slammed shut and the suspect ran from the location, hopped several walls, and ran through multiple backyards. A perimeter was quickly established and K-9 Marlin arrived to “smell out” the suspect’s fear scent. While searching the rear yard of a nearby property, K-9 Marlin alerted his handler that the suspect was hiding in thick bushes behind the detached garage. Once the suspect knew that Marlin had him in his sights (or smells, rather), the gang member quickly surrendered to police.
As Marlin was celebrating his arrest, the officers assigned to the Downtown Policing Unit were attempting to stop a car leaving the Galleria. The occupants of the vehicle had just committed a burglary and were fleeing from the parking lot. The police helicopter spotted the vehicle a block away from the Galleria and followed it until ground units arrived. The suspect vehicle stopped and a male ran from the car. He jumped several walls and crossed through numerous backyards. His futile effort to get away was monitored by the police helicopter and several patrol units. A perimeter was established and K-9 Sam was ready to go to work! After about an hour of searching, K-9 Sam directed officers to a crawl space underneath a house. Sam ripped the access screen off and ran under the house to the far corner. He barked at the suspect, showing officers exactly where he was hiding. Sam was called away from the suspect, who peacefully surrendered and crawled out from underneath the house under the watchful eyes of awaiting officers. The suspect was a parolee with an extensive rap sheet.
Thanks to K-9 Marlin and K-9 Sam, two serious criminals were removed from our streets, keeping the city a little safer for our citizens. Plus, no officers were injured since the suspects had no desire to resist arrest as long as the K-9s were there.
Let's Play Hide and Seek!
July 22, 2009
July of this year, several officers stopped a vehicle on a routine traffic stop. Quickly, the officers realized this may be more than just a speeding violation. A strong smell of marijuana was coming from the car, and the occupants were VERY nervous! Immediately, Yudy was summoned to play one of her favorite games; hide and seek (second only to tug-of-war). The bad guys hide the contraband, and Yudy seeks and finds it!
Yudy went to work inside the car, sniffing every corner of the vehicle. Suddenly, her nose picked up a familiar odor, and she began narrowing down the hiding spot. She sniffed and sniffed until finally she gave me the final indication the contraband would be found hidden in the area of the front passenger seat.
The officers searched the area where Yudy indicated, and at first found nothing. Yudy was insistent there were drugs hidden in that seat. Finally, after some time, the officers discovered a false compartment within the seat cushion. The compartment revealed about a pound of marijuana, and several ounces of cocaine!! Way to go Yudy!
Glendale K9's Get Some Air Time
June 8, 2009
On Wednesday, April 29th, 2009, the Glendale Police Department K9 Unit trained with the Tri-City Air Support Program, which encompasses Glendale, Burbank, and Pasadena. This training consisted of educating the handlers on the proper techniques of approaching the helicopter, safely boarding the aircraft with the K9, and securing the K9 in the seat prior to take-off. After a practice run with the helicopter engines off, it was time for the real deal. After the blades were spinning at full speed, each of the K9 teams had a chance to load the helicopter, fly from Benedict Airport in Pasadena to the Glendale Police Shooting Range along the 2 Freeway, exit the helicopter, and begin a search for a “suspect.”
This is the second time that the K9s have flown in a helicopter. The first time was in Santa Barbara about two years ago. It is good to undergo recurrent training so that the K9s are comfortable with being confined in small places, the feeling of flight, and safely entering and exiting the helicopter. It may be necessary to fly a K9 team into an area (such as a mountainous area or a roof top of a high-rise building) to conduct a suspect search. By training the K9s to be comfortable with flying in a helicopter and conducting a search immediately following the flight, they will be ready to go when the real scenario occurs.
A special thanks to the pilots and tactical flight observers from the Tri-Cities who helped make this training possible. Also, we’d like to thank the K9 handlers from Pasadena PD and Burbank PD for their efforts in this joint “Tri-City” exercise.
Glendale Newspress article regarding this training day
K-9 Sam and K-9 Marlin Locate Large-Scale Marijuana Cultivation Suspects
April 20, 2009
On 4/9/09, K-9 Sam and K-9 Marlin, with their respective handlers Ofc. Sholtis and Ofc. Wynkoop, assisted the Glendale Narcotics Detail and SWAT team in searching the Verdugo Mountains for evidence of a large-scale marijuana cultivation. These operations are often guarded by armed suspects and may be booby-trapped. The area that was searched was near the site of a large scale marijuana cultivation that was located in 2007. Approximately one hour into the search, the team located a suspect, who immediately ran from SWAT officers. K-9 Sam and K-9 Marlin were deployed in the area where he was last seen and quickly located and apprehended the suspect.
Both K9s continued to search the mountains for another two hours. K-9 Sam alerted his handler, to an area of thick brush. Ofc. Sholtis recognized Sam's behavior and knew he had found a potentially armed suspect hiding in the bushes. The suspect refused to show his hands and Sam was given the command to apprehend him. The suspect quickly came out of the bushes and surrendered to the awaiting SWAT officers. With the help of Sam and Marlin, two suspects were safely taken into custody and a large-scale marijuana grow with over 1,000 new plants was found and seized.
Glendale K-9s Enjoy a Day on the Lake
April 20, 2009
On 4/15/09, the Glendale Police K-9 Unit participated in a multi-agency K-9 training at Lake Piru in Ventura County. The K-9s participated in several training scenarios that involved water. One scenario required the K-9s to be deployed from a boat onto an island dock, where a suspect was apprehended. Another scenario required the K-9s to jump into the water from a dock, swim to the suspect, and apprehend him. It is important to always train with new scenarios so that the K-9s can be exposed to many types of environments. Even if the K-9s never have to swim after a suspect in real life, training with these types of scenarios builds confidence in the K-9s and gives the handlers an idea of how their partners may react under various conditions. The day wasn’t all work and no play. All the K-9s took a break to play in the water and fetch sticks…just like real dogs!!
K9s Undergo Gas Training
April 13, 2009
On Friday, April 10th, K-9 Sam, K-9 Marlin, and K-9 Quwai participated in CS gas exposure training at the LAPD training academy in Granada Hills. CS gas is commonly used by SWAT teams to create an uncomfortable environment for a barricaded suspect. Normally, a suspect exposed to such gas will experience a severe burning sensation in the eyes, nose, and any exposed skin. The effects are temporary, but severe enough to force a suspect to surrender. During a tactical deployment of CS gas, it is often necessary for SWAT members and K-9 teams to enter the location to search for the suspect if he does not voluntarily surrender. SWAT and K-9 officers are equipped with gas masks that allow them to function normally within a gas environment. K-9 Yudy and K-9 Marlin have previously been involved in such deployments, and neither K-9 experienced any ill-effects from the gas. They were able to successfully carry out their function and locate the suspects. However, it is recommended to introduce K-9s to gas during regular training so that they become accustomed to the environment for a real situation.
All three K-9s who attended the training were first brought into the gas-filled room with their handlers, who played with them with toys in order to relieve any stress that the dogs may have experienced. Once the dogs became used to the environment, they were commanded to search for a hidden suspect in the room. All three K-9s located the suspect, as expected. When the pretend suspect failed to comply with our orders, the K-9s were given the command to apprehend him.
Marlin Finds Gun
March 30, 2009
On March 28, 2009 at approximately 7:27PM, a call was made to the Glendale Police Department regarding a group of males congregating to the front of an apartment building. The 911 caller said one of the males was observed with a black handgun; furthermore it was reported that the male had hidden the gun in the bushes near the front of the location.
Upon arrival, the officers had detained the males but were unable to find the gun. That is when K9 Marlin came into play. Officer Wynkoop directed K9 Marlin to search the area where the males had been standing. Marlin quickly found the weapon; Great job Marlin! It was determined the black gun Marlin located was a toy gun. However, the orange safety tip was removed giving it the appearance of a real handgun. This is extremely dangerous as officers and members of the community may not know it is a toy gun.
K9's at Valley View Elementary School
March 2, 2009
Above: Officer Hamilton and Quwai are the center of attention.
Above: Yudy and the children play a game of tug-o-war.
On February 24, 2009, Officer Aaron Hamilton and his K9 Quwai and Officer Maribel Feeley and her K9 Yudy visited Valley View Elementary School. They conducted a demonstration of the dogs' abilities and let the kids get to know their furry partners.
Nicole Parker Foundation Donation
February 2, 2009
Above: K9 Marlin protects his handler, Officer Wynkoop, from an attacker in the protective suit.
The Glendale Police Department would like to thank the Nicole Parker Foundation for Children for the generous donation of a protective training suit. This training suit is used to protect the police officer who is playing the role of an aggressor. The suit allows the agitator to engage the police K9s in realistic training, while protecting the agitator. Our program is supported solely through donations from the community; the purchase of this important training aid would not have been possible without this generous donation.
K-9 Quwai is Sidelined Due to Injury: Surgeries Needed
January 27, 2009
K-9 Quwai looks ready for action, but will have to be sidelined for a few months while recovering from two surgeries.
It is inherent in the work that police canines perform that they run a greater risk of injury than a typical house pet. No matter how much training and exercise a police canine undergoes, the risk of injury from running, jumping, even fighting with suspects is always a possibility. Glendale Police K-9 Quwai has sustained a partial tear in both his anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL), which will require two surgeries to correct. It is not known if the injury was the result of one incident, or something that had developed over time. Similar to human athletes, this injury can occur in dogs when the ligament that joins the femur and tibia is stretched or moved in a direction that is not natural. This can occur if a dog lands awkwardly from a jump or is simply running on slippery floors.
When the cruciate ligament ruptures, the tibia slides forward when any weight is put on the foot (Figures 1 & 2). This sliding force is affected by the slope of the tibial joint surface. The surgery that will be performed is called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy or “TPLO.” This surgical technique changes the tibial joint surface so that the tibia no longer slides forward relative to the femur (Figures 3 & 4). Stabilizing the joint will help protect against arthritis. Other surgical techniques that are commonly used involve using synthetic suture material to basically recreate the ligament. TPLO is a preferred method in larger, more active dogs because it requires less recovery time and it is less likely that the ligament will re-rupture after surgery.
The injury was first diagnosed by our team veterinarian, Dr. Ron Dalzell. Veterinary surgeons Dr. Jack Henry and Dr. Tim Crowe of Pet Emergency Clinic and Referral Hospital will be performing the surgeries. The efforts by Dr. Dalzell, Dr. Henry, and Dr. Crowe are supported by the National Police Dog Foundation and the Pet Emergency Clinic and Referral Hospital. K-9 Quwai is scheduled for the first surgery on February 6th, 2009. Recovery time will be approximately five months. The good news is that most dogs (over 90%) are expected to regain a very active and athletic lifestyle with no post-operative complications and without the need for any pain relieving medication. All dogs that suffer this injury and undergo surgery are likely to develop some degree of arthritis. However, if a dog is not treated, severe degenerative joint disease usually occurs not only in the affected leg, but also the well leg because of the increased stress on that leg due to compensation. K-9 Quwai unfortunately has a partial tear in both rear legs and will require two surgeries. The surgeries will be staged at least four weeks apart.
K-9 Quwai has been involved in numerous narcotic finds, violent suspect searches, and hundreds of public appearances and demonstrations. K-9 Quwai is a crowd favorite because of his good humor and playful personality. We anticipate a full recovery for K-9 Quwai. He will be missed on the streets during his recovery.
The Glendale Police K-9 Unit is solely funded by donations from the generous citizens, businesses, and organizations in Glendale and the surrounding area. All donations are tax deductible and are collected by the Glendale Police Foundation, a 501c(3) organization.
If you would like to make a donation to the Glendale Police K-9 Unit to assist with K-9 Quwai’s surgeries or to help fund the cost of training, food, and equipment, please send a check to Glendale Police Foundation, P.O. Box 10142, Glendale, CA 91209. Please write "K-9 Donation" on the check. Thank you for your generosity and well-wishes for K-9 Quwai’s successful surgeries and speedy recovery.
For more information about the National Police Dog Foundation and the Pet Emergency Clinic, please visit www.NationalPoliceDogFoundation.org and www.PetEmergencyClinic.com.
