For Redmond police officer Sam Hovenden, his four-legged partner, Vader, is like a young son — and much, much more.
The six-year-old German shepherd is his safety net and a sophisticated crime-fighting tool for Redmond and other Eastside cities.
“He is so intelligent,” said Hovenden, Redmond Police Department’s only K-9 handler who has been working with Vader for the past three years. “The fact that he can use his senses to locate suspects and evidence and find narcotics in a manner we can’t is absolutely unbelievable. For me, he keeps me safe at night. He’s a family member, he’s my partner, but he’s also a tool.”
Vader, who lives with Hovenden, is a great asset to the police force as he helps track down fleeing suspects and crime evidence along with sniffing out illegal narcotics in homes and vehicles, Hovenden said. A couple of weeks ago on a call to assist the Kirkland Police Department, Vader helped police officers locate four burglary suspects who were hiding in a closet.
“He’s that early warning device,” Hovenden said. “It’s safer to have him locate the suspects rather than to blindly send an officer. He helps keep our officers safe and he can locate suspects much quicker,” which ultimately makes the community safer, Hovenden added.
Vader is not a bomb-sniffing dog. He is only trained to track suspects and sniff out drugs, said Hovenden, who added that several Eastside agencies share K-9 unit services if their own K-9 unit is off duty. If Redmond police need a bomb-sniffing dog, they will call the Washington State Patrol or King County Sheriff’s Office, according to Hovenden.
K-9 units from around the state sharpened their crime-fighting skills at a three-day seminar by the Washington State Police Canine Association (WSPCA). The seminar, hosted by the Redmond and Kirkland Police departments, featured teaching sessions at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond and the La Quinta Inn in Kirkland.
WSPCA conducts training sessions for K-9 units specializing in patrol, along with narcotics and explosives detection, each spring and fall — one on the west side of the Cascades and another on the east side. Additionally, the nonprofit organization provides certification for qualified K-9 units. WSPCA held a fundraiser auction Tuesday night and raised approximately $3,800 for its retired dog fund, according to Hovenden.
Hovenden, along with Jeff Trombley, the Kirkland K-9 handler, were the volunteer organizers of the training seminar, which attracted about 75 law enforcement handlers.
HONING THEIR SKILLS
Hovenden said the seminar is crucial for K-9 units to hone their skills and network with other handlers.
“For most handlers, this is the show,” said Hovenden, who is a WSPCA master trainer and executive board member. “This is where they get their refresher training, their updates. This helps keep your dog’s skills honed. There’s not a lot of training out there and our association is proactive and provides the needed training. What we try to do is give training above and beyond. We strive for excellence.”
Trombley and Hovenden worked hard to bring in national forensics experts and dog trainers as educators for the seminar, which concludes today (April 20). Dr. Kenneth Furton, founding director and current director emeritus of the International Forensic Research Institute at Florida International University, was a notable speaker at the seminar. He discussed how crime-fighting dogs hone their sense of smell and how trainers can get the most out of their canine partners.
On Tuesday, Mike Herstik, a former instructor for the Israeli Special Forces K-9 unit and instructor for the bomb portion of the seminar, set up a demonstration for the media with a bomb-sniffing K-9 unit from the Bellingham Police Department. Bellingham police officer Shan Hanon and his Belgian Malinois shepherd, Celina, performed a mock search of a scent wall — a plywood structure with pipe openings.
Led by Hanon, Celina sniffed each pipe opening in the structure before finding the target scent. Once she found the scent, she instantly sat down and pointed at the pipe opening with her nose in a frozen position — a condition known as “conditioned freeze response,” said Herstik, an experienced K-9 trainer who is contracted with several agencies in the Los Angeles area.
Herstik said bomb dogs “have to have the quality of obsessiveness. We use a toy to motivate. They are obsessed for their toy. They will keep working and working for their toy. That is their motivation. If they are not obsessive, they will quit and we can’t use dogs who quit in the middle of a bomb search.”
John Munson, the WSPCA president and head trainer for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, said a good police dog has to be balanced, “one that we can use to fight crime and one we take to a kindergarten class and do a demonstration.”
Every K-9 lives with his or her trainer, creating a strong bond between handler and dog, Munson said.
“When we’re not working, they are at home just like regular pets,” Munson said. “When it’s time to go to work, they can’t get to the car fast enough.”
STRONG BOND
Hovenden said Vader definitely has that obsessive behavior needed for crime-fighting dogs, saying his dog “has lots of drive and is very neurotic” — which is a good thing.
Hovenden and Vader also share that special bond Munson spoke of. Hovenden has a kennel at home for Vader and is considered part of the family — “like a small child,” he said.
Hovenden started at Redmond Police Department in 1996 as a patrol officer before becoming a K-9 handler in 2001, when he was paired with Monte, who recently died from cancer. Hovenden has been handling Vader since 2008 and he said some shifts are busier than others, depending on the number of crime incidents.
But Vader is more than just a highly-trained dog that takes a bite out of crime. He is also a lovable, playful dog who can socialize with innocent citizens, Hovenden said.
“Everything is through obedience and association of the event,” Hovenden explained. “They have the ability, like people, to turn it on and turn it off, based on the situation.”
