Walkin’ the beat
A day in the life of the Ventura K-9 unit
By Stacey Wiebe 03/22/2007
Catching the bad guy is all in a day’s work for Felix Von Vort Komp, who rises in the morning and readies for another day on the job like any other officer of the law.
Of course, unlike most of his coworkers, he doesn’t put his pants on one leg at a time — or at all, for that matter.
At the ripe middle age of 8, Felix is a seasoned veteran of the streets. Like the other members of Ventura’s K-9 Unit, and many police dogs in general, Felix originally hails from Germany, where he underwent intensive training before he was purchased and shipped to the United States to become a working K-9 at the age of 2.
For the past six years, Felix has been paired with Officer Jack Ortega, the department’s most senior K-9 officer. At the end of each day, Felix goes home with Ortega — but Ortega is quick to point out that the dog can’t be considered a “pet” until he retires from duty. There is no eating ice cream in bed and lounging on the couch for Felix. “You’ve got to keep them motivated to go to work,” Ortega said.
Until retirement, Felix must remain as alert and on top of his game as any other member of the department. Still, that doesn’t mean that the two don’t interact; in fact, in order for any K-9 and its handler to be an effective crime-fighting tool, the pair must operate like a well-oiled machine. This is the main reasons that great care is taken in the selection of K-9 dogs.
“If you look at the handler and the dog, their personalities match,” Ortega said. “Maybe the dog takes on the handler’s personality or the handler takes on the dog’s personality — or a little bit of both — but it’s like a perfect couple … It’s safe to say that we spend more time with our dogs than we do with our significant others.”
Ventura Officer Scott Garrett and his dog, Eros, are the two newest members of the K-9 Unit. As such, it will be a while before the pair’s relationship has that finish-each-other’s-sentences quality that Ortega and Felix would surely have if Felix could speak human. “It takes six months for you as a team to truly bond,” said Garrett, who graduated earlier this month from a patrol training course.
“When I see him and his dog, it reminds me of me and Felix when we started,” Ortega said of Garrett and Eros.
Even after the dogs are purchased and shipped to the United States, they must continue to undergo training. Garrett and Ortega liken the K-9 training to that of an officer freshly graduated from the police academy. Even after the training, the cadet will be trained with the department at which he or she is hired and will continue to participate in training designed to update and streamline skills. Keeping the dogs in policing shape only makes sense when you consider that each dog is a roughly $15,000 investment, including the price of the dog and essential training.
For the Ventura Police Department, the initial dog and training costs are shouldered by the nonprofit Police Dog Foundation, Inc., which was founded by former K-9 handlers as a means of supporting K-9 efforts. According to Beth Lyons, president of the foundation, the use of K-9s dwindled in recent years in the face of budget slashing at state, county and city levels. The foundation supports the purchase and training of K-9s, along with ongoing equipment needs.
For the dogs, ongoing training includes participation one day each week in activities that fine-tune obedience, tracking, searching, narcotics identification, apprehension and other skills. In addition, K-9 officers share information and design new ways to better employ the animals. “We try to get them as much exposure to as many different things as possible, so that they will know what to do if they encounter those situations on the street,” Ortega said.
The remainder of the K-9’s week is spent on patrol with officers. “We’re basically responsible for everything patrol does,” Ortega said. “The difference is if a call comes up and they say they need a K-9, we go.” K-9s are often used for drug calls, high-risk warrant services, suspects fleeing on foot, and more.
While it can be tough to send a dog into a dangerous situation, the practice ultimately saves lives. “There are times when you have to send them into the unknown,” Ortega said. “I would rather see the dog hurt than an officer hurt because I won’t send him in.”
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