Winfield’s new police dog has spent just a few days on duty but has already sniffed out some pot and taken a liking to her fellow officers.
Kessy ? which is pronounced "key see," and is Hebrew for cinnamon ? has proven quite keen at sniffing out narcotics and tracking. Local officer Eric Jarvis is the dog’s handler.
"She’s made friends with everyone," chief Danny Parker said. "She’s not a pet, she’s a tool that we use, but at the same time she needs to bond well with the person working with her. And she has."
Kessy is a Belgian Malinois ? a breed that looks like a stubbier version of a German Shepherd ? that turned two years old Friday. She was raised in Holland and all of her commands are spoken in Dutch.
The dog proved to be one of the best drug sniffers and tracker of humans in her training class, Parker said. She’s with Jarvis 24 hours a day and the two are always on call.
Jarvis was specially trained in handling the animal and is the only officer allowed to give commands.
So far, Kessy has worked one case, a traffic stop, where she turned up some marijuana. She’s also sniffed out three places in the place station where drug evidence is, or once had been, stored.
An event to introduce the dog to the media is in the works for next week. Check back for photos.
