The question surfaces quite often-Is the money spent on canines and there care worth the investment?
Well if you bother to speak with Police Cheif Randy Crawford or Sheriff Donald O’Cain you may be surprised to find out just what those furry friends bring to the table.
Because it was short notice Crawford was unable to put his hands on the expenses but offered he would be happy to make the information available. His officer Landon Ates handles the Magee canine, whose name is Aram.
Crawford said the biggest expenses associated with thier dog is annual shots.
He said Aram is a huge asset on narcotic interdiction and a big detterent on drugs. Crawford said, “ Just knowing that we have a dog has resulted in numerous people turning the drugs over to the officer before they even search.” Crawford said that the Magee canine was paid for through seized funds and it was paid for in less than one year. He went on to say that the department has seized over $20,000 in cash and vehicles since the dog has become part of the force.
Cheif Crawford said the dog is also a detterent regarding schools. He said that it is his opinion that students are aware that the dogs are in service therefore they are less likely to have drugs at schools.
Crawford definitely is in favor of have canines as part of law enforcement team.
From a county perspective Sheriff Donald O’Cain is more than happy with his canine operation. He said the dogs are extremely important and not only does he have drug dogs but he has blood hounds that he uses to track apprehend violators.
O’Cain uses Jack Ates to work his blood hound which is one year old and said not only are these dogs important for tracking violators but can also be used for adults who may suffer from dimentia or related diseases.
He said that the blood hound has recently been used to track a suspect in Smith county as well as one on Dry Creek Road.
Gary Runnels had been the primary handler of drug dog but those responsiblities have been truned over to Deputy Billy Segini. The sheriff mentioned that one of the drug dogs was nearing the age of retirement and would soon be taken out of service.
For fiscal year 2017 there was a total of $6,842.88 spent on care of three canines, Halo, Hero and Montana. Sheriff O’Cain said that donations through the auxillary were used to acquire Hero Tom. Of the total figure $3,515 was spent for training. $1,447.43 was spend for harnesses, leads and the likes. Health check ups and medications were $931. Food for the dogs were $949.45 a year. In addition, the handler is paid 30 minutes every day to handle animals over the course of a year at $10 per hour that is just over $1,800 per handler.
The figures for 2016 was $6,681.90 for Kierra, Halo and Hero Tom. 2015 was $4,524.36 for Kierra, Halo, Stella and Ranger. 2014 was $5,138.92.
Questions that have surfaced in the past include; Is it worth all the money spent to operate this program year after year? Also, there seems to be questions about why officers leave and the canines end up leaving with them.
But if you ask the police or the sheriff’s department you will find they believe money spent on these programs is money well spent.
