Deputy shows off his K-9

Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Shields, 31, coordinates Wayne County's K-9 program. The program dates to 1982, at which time the Newark Lions purchased the first dog for the department.

Last Wednesday Shields and Majko gave a presentation for the Lions Club meeting at Danny Boy's.

He and three other deputies are K-9 handlers. Russ Stein has Iwo, a German Shepherd, Joe Cole works with bloodhound Beau, and Bill Carr has Quigley, a yellow Labrador retriever. Last week after the Marine Midland Bank in Palmyra was robbed, Deputy Cole and Beau worked on tracking the hold-up man. Quigley and Iwo are narcotics dogs.

Majko (who is from Czechoslovakia) is four years old, weighs 85 pounds and can run about 25 m.p.h., says Shields. His specialty is explosives detection.

The department recently retired 9-year-old Largo and placed him in a home with a deputy.

Many of these dogs come from Germany or other parts of Europe, where the dogs are bred for working ability, not for their looks. The handlers give commands in the language the dog understands, usually German. Shields says the dogs must wait for commands, unless there is an attack on the handler. Then the dog acts without any command from any person.

Shields and the other Wayne County handlers give about 50 demonstrations a year, at schools and community gatherings. The county budget allows for the maintenance cost of the Trained Certified Police Dogs, but all dogs are purchased with private donations. At more than $3000 per animal, each dog comes with a guarantee that he is trainable.

Majko walked around the room at the Lions meeting, not in a muzzle, not on a leash. He is friendly around people, as long as they don't touch the handler, don't move quickly or start to run.

(S. Marcano photo)

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