During the last 13 and a half years of his career at the Redmond Police Department (RPD), officer Sam Hovenden has worked with two partners.
While this is already unique for an officer in a department in which cops work single-officer cars, his partners — Monty and Vader — were unusual, as well.
This is because Hovenden was one half of RPD’s K-9 unit and Monty and Vader were German Shepherds.
Hovenden retired out of the unit in September, but despite this change, the 18-and-a-half-year veteran officer is still involved in the department’s — as well as the state’s — K-9 teams.
As a master trainer, Hovenden has certified more than 100 K-9 police teams throughout Washington in patrol and narcotics. This summer, he trained K-9 units for the Bellevue and Tukwila police departments as well as the new RPD K-9 unit, which will continue with RPD officer Dan Smith and Remy the German Shepherd.
“Officer Hovenden has been recognized as a leader in the safe and appropriate use of police K-9s throughout the state of Washington,” said RPD Chief Ron Gibson. “He is certified as a master trainer of police K-9 teams and has been a great asset to our department.”
In addition, Hovenden is the current president of the Washington State Police Canine Association.
A DOG’S ABILITIES
RPD’s K-9 unit began in 1980 and during his tenure, Hovenden and his partners’ work resulted in more than 2,400 applications and 364 captures. The two teams are credited with the seizure of more than $3 million in narcotics and $2.5 million in cash.
“During his tenure as a handler, Sam and his two K-9 partners are responsible for hundreds of arrests of criminals who may have gone free if it were not for his skill and professionalism,” Gibson said.
Hovenden said police dogs’ abilities allow them to do things their human counterparts cannot such as locating drugs, explosives and people using their sense of smell. In addition, he said the dogs can act as a buffer between him and any danger.
“He is protection for me,” said Hovenden.
Gibson added, “The K-9 unit is a valuable tool that helps to keep our officers safe. The police K-9 team can assist in searching buildings and open field areas for suspects that are hiding from officers. The K-9 officer and his partner work as a team to locate criminal suspects who are hiding from the police. They are able to locate suspects that officers would not be able to locate if it were not for the assistance of a trained K-9 team.”
Despite the dogs’ abilities, Hovenden said they never become more mature than a 7-year-old, so it is like the officers are bringing a child to work with them. As a result, he said officers who work with police dogs must be able to read their partners’ behavior and cues and be very clear on what they need the dogs to do. Hovenden said the breakdown between an officer — sometimes referred to as a handler — and his canine partner often happens when the person’s instructions are not clear to the dog.
THE RIGHT DOG FOR THE JOB
Hovenden said police dogs usually begin training when they are about a year old, though it depends on their maturity and ability to do the job. He said they also typically use male dogs for police dogs because females are usually used for breeding.
Police dogs are also typically German Shepherds and Hovenden said this is because they are a proven breed. They are intelligent, physical, athletic and can handle the tasks that come with patrolling. But Hovenden said German Shepherds are also social dogs and this helps as K-9 units are also used in community outreach, meaning they come in contact with people and children often.
Another breed that is sometimes used for police dogs is the Belgian Malinois, which is like a smaller version of the German Shepherd.
The span of a police dog’s career depends on his health. Monty was Hovenden’s partner from the time he was about 18 months until he was 8 and a half years old when he died of cancer. Hovenden worked with Vader from the time the dog was 2 years old to 9 and a half years old.
Hovenden said he and Vader retired out of the K-9 unit last month because at that point, the dog was on borrowed time due to his age. In addition, Hovenden said it was also time to let other officers within the department have the opportunity to work in the unit.
HELPING THE COMMUNITY
Hovenden said he chose to go into law enforcement because growing up, he looked up to the police officers in his community. In addition, when he was 19 years old, he spent time out of the country and witnessed a lot of violence and saw how police work could be a way to help people. For the service-minded Hovenden, this was very appealing.
Through his job as a police officer and through the K-9 unit, Hovenden said some of the calls that stand out for him are the ones in which he and Monty or Vader were able to apprehend suspects who had been hiding and probably wouldn’t have been found otherwise. He said one type of scenario in which catching a suspect has been particularly satisfying is in the case of domestic violence calls. Hovenden said being able to let a victim know that the person who hurt them has been caught and will not be coming back is a great feeling.
He said working with undercover units to help catch career criminals as well as on true crimes of violence have been very special, as well.
RETIRED LIFE
As pack animals, dogs need to bond with their partner so during downtime and days off, Hovenden said police dogs live with their handler.
While at home, he said they are like any other house pet. The dogs are trained to understand when it is time to work. These cues range from putting on a special harness to seeing their handler wearing their uniform to getting into the police car.
Now that he is no longer in the K-9 unit, Hovenden said he is working on adjusting to being back on the graveyard patrol shift, which is where he started with RPD.
And he is not the only one adjusting. Hovenden said Vader is still not used to the retired life. Having spent seven of his nine-plus years working, Hovenden said Vader often gets worked up and barks around the time they usually would go to work.
