Looks forward to a new canine partner

Boone County Sheriff’s Department’s K-9 dog Bandit sees a lot of action. In 2009 alone the K-9 unit was deployed over 300 times, and not just in Boone County. He also services the surrounding counties.

Being the only such unit in the area he and his handler Sgt. Dallas Wingate are either working, or on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

“It’s a whole new level of backup,” says fellow Deputy Nate Benjamin, who joined the department full time three months ago, and if things fall into place, could have a patrol dog of his own next year. “Having that extra tool for efficiency would be wonderful.” 

He has not only seen Sgt. Wingate and Bandit in action while on patrol, but has been involved in training as well, serving as a decoy. 

Benjamin says he grew up dreaming of becoming a law enforcement officer. That, and his love of dogs, is what prompted him to approach the department about becoming a handler himself.

Benjamin understands the responsibility and long-term commitment that goes along with being a handler. The dog becomes his partner, accompanying the officer on patrol, then returning home to his kennel, the place Benjamin refers to as his chill spot. These highly trained dogs, he explains, even when roaming around the house, are always on alert. He compares it to working 24 hours a day. The dog, like a human, will eventually get burned out. They need their down time. Benjamin doesn’t worry about the dog’s lack of exercise being in the kennel when he’s home. “The dogs run miles and miles when on duty and are in phenomenal shape.” He puts them on the same level as a professional athlete.

Read more in the Nov. 1, 2017 issue of The Ogden Reporter.

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