Ortonville– There’s a new cop in town– and he smells a million times better than any other officer in Brandon Township.
It’s not soap that puts him over the top, it’s his 225 scent glands.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Garrison’s new partner is K-9 Bodi, a German Shepherd who uses his nose to fight crime.
‘He’s my sidekick from when I get up to when I go to bed,? says Garrison. ‘I hadn’t had a dog in 20 years, so this is new for both of us. I’ve also never had a dog this large or with this caliber of training.?
Garrison put in a letter to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department about 18 months ago, expressing his interest in having a K-9 partner, after Brandon Township Supervisor Ron Lapp and Sgt. Tim McIsaac of the Brandon substation had let the county know they wanted a police dog for the township.
Bodi came to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia in April. Garrison says German Shepherds are often brought to America from that country to become police dogs because they tend to not have some of the common breed problems that are seen here, such as hip dysplasia.
When Bodi arrived, he was first checked and cleared for health by a veterinarian at the University of Michigan Animal Hospital. He then spent five weeks in pre-service training at the K-9 Academy, a division of the Oakland Community College Police Academy.
On May 13, Garrison went to the academy to meet Bodi. He used a tennis ball as an introduction. He left the academy with the dog and a bag of food to take home.
Garrison began training with the dog immediately at the academy. After another five weeks of training, Bodi was ready to take his certification tests. To certify for tracking people, Bodi had to do a quarter-mile track with a minimum of three turns, cross a road twice (changing from grass to pavement), the scent he was following had to be an hour-old and someone else had to cross the track with a different scent 15 minutes in to that hour to try and throw off the dog.
‘They are so sensitive to smell, they can track several scents at one time,? Garrison says. ‘They pick up the scent on their tongue and when they raise it to the roof of their mouth it reaches the olfactory sense.?
To certify for tracking drugs, Bodi had to search four cars, alerting for the areas on three where drugs were hidden– one with heroin, one with cocaine, and one with marijuana (the fourth car was a decoy, no drugs). He also had to do a building search, where drugs were hidden in three jail cells (a fourth cell was empty.) He also did locker searches.
On all the tests, Bodi certified on the first try. He graduated from the K-9 Academy on June 17. On the of graduation, Garrison was told by the master trainer that Bodi was now worth $12,000.
He is already proving his worth. On his second day on the job with Garrison, the pair were called to a fight in the Brandon Manor Apartments. A suspect who had felony warrants out for his arrest had fled the scene. Bodi, with his tracking harness on and a 30-foot nylon lead attached for Garrison, began tracking at a footprint the man had left outside a window. He lost the track near a wooded area, but picked the scent up again after sniffing a shirt the suspect had worn earlier in the day.
‘Me and my human partners wanted to go west into the woods, but Bodi was pulling us east across the road,? says Garrison. ‘But the master trainer told me, ‘Always trust your dog.??
Garrison did trust Bodi and allowed the dog to lead to where he eventually found the suspect laying in the underbrush.
‘We shook a lot of hands that night,? recalls Garrison. ‘Only 20 percent of tracks are successful, but if you throw in weather, lots of people around and people getting in cars and taking off, that’s pretty good.?
Bodi and Garrison will continue to do training one day a week for the rest of their career together. He has new skills to learn and must be recertified every two years. The dog is shy and getting used to large groups of people and distractions while on duty.
Bodi should not be petted while in the patrol car or actively tracking, but Garrison wants the community to know they should not be afraid to greet the dog if they see him elsewhere.
‘The general consensus is dogs need to be socialized with everyone,? says Garrison. ‘We need to get him out and show people he’s still a dog. He works, but he’s a dog, too.?
Garrison expects him to be fully acclimated a year from now.
‘He’s trusting me more everyday,? says Garrison, who had to housetrain the dog, as well as get him used to stairs. ‘We’re working on him recognizing me as the alpha-male.?
Meanwhile, Bodi enjoys playing fetch at home and a tennis ball is always kept in Garrison’s pocket while he is on duty as a gift or prize at the end of a track.
‘He’ll knock you down to get the ball,? laughs Garrison as he leans down to pet the dog laying at his feet.
Bodi has gained seven pounds since he’s been with Garrison. He now weighs 63 pounds. He was the smallest in his class of five dogs. Bodi is also the newest and, at 14 months, youngest of the 13 police dogs now in Oakland County. Of those, two are bomb dogs, one is a dog that stays at the Oakland County Jail and the rest are like Bodi– specialists in tracking missing persons, criminals and drugs. The county pays for the food and vet care for all the police dogs.
Garrison works all different shifts with Bodi at his side.
‘He’s like my gun– if I go to work, I can’t be without him,? he said.
When he goes on vacation with his fiancee and her two children, the dog will be with them. And by the time they return, Garrison’s patrol car will be fully outfitted with a ‘Hot Dog Unit.? The windows will be screened and will have fans and there will be a temperature sensor so that if the cooling unit fails, the windows will automatically roll down. A flat floor and steel door covers will be installed and windows will be tinted. Garrison will also be getting a special first-aid kit for the dog that includes gauze for his paws and an intubation system for Bodi in case of bloat, a common stomach ailment for large dogs.
K-9 officers usually work until they are 8-11 years-old, with peak performance years between 3-5 years of age. Garrison cites an unwritten rule that he will get to keep Bodi after the dog retires. For now, he is looking forward to a long career with the dog.
‘I would say this is the best partner I’ve ever had,? Garrison says. ‘I truly believe he would do anything for me. He’s a good boy.?