Chop, a 2-year-old male German shepherd from Germany, has joined the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department’s K-9 unit. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)
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After intensive training, German shepherd and his handler, Deputy Shane Moore, have been on duty as a team for about 2 months
A new dog has joined the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department’sK-9 unit and will be an essential resource for law enforcement personnel.
Chop, a 2-year-old male German shepherdfrom Germany, has started responding to calls with his handler, Deputy Shane Moore, a six-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department. Moore said he became interested in becoming a K-9 handler early in his career.
After receiving his initial training at the Inglis Police Dog Academyin Oxnard, Chip has been on duty for about two months.
The duo graduated from patrol school, where they completed 200 hours of specialized training. Chop responds to commands in both English and German. He is trained in human scent detection, open area building searches, apprehension and handler protection. He later will be instructed in narcotics detection and hard surface tracking.
“He is easygoing,” Moore said of his four-legged partner. “I lucked out with him. He is friendly and accepting of the process and the work. He enjoys it.”
Canine lovers and more than 10 people supporting local law enforcement watched Chop demonstrate a few of his skills Thursday afternoon at Tucker’s Grove Parkin Goleta. Chop bolted, lunged and gripped his jaw into the thick protective sleeve.
Sgt. Jarrett Morris’ arm moved swiftly as the pup clenched his mouth.
“They are a great tool,” Morris said of canines. “They will not bite unless they get a command from their handler to do so.”
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Santa Barbara County sheriff’s K-9 Chop sits alongside his handler, Deputy Shane Moore. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo) |
Chop and Moore are assigned to the South Coast, but the pair will respond to calls throughout the county. The K-9 team is on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Moore’s patrol vehicle has a decal featuring the dog’s name.
When Chop is not working, he lives at Moore’s home.
“He is always with me,” Moore said of Chop. “There are two places he loves — the back of my car and in his kennel.”
Chop isn’t the first of his kind in the sheriff’s K-9 program. The team consists of four patrol dogs and a jail narcotics K-9. Two dogs patrol the South Coast, and two others are in the North County.
The department has relied on the dog unit funding from the Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse’s Project Deputy Dogprogram. Chop was purchased after a large donation from Carpinteria residents Christine and Reece Duca to the fundraising effort launched by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse.
The Ducas picked the name, Chop, after the nickname of a family friend.
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Sgt. Jarrett Morris and canine Chop, with handler Shane Moore nearby, participate in a bite demonstration Thursday at Tucker’s Grove Park in Goleta. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo) |
The couple, who have three dogs of their own, wanted to help the sheriff’s K-9 program after watching a K-9 team locate two suspects hiding under their house in 2017.
The duo donated money to purchase Duke, a 3-year-old German shepherd, who joined the sheriff’s K-9 team in October 2018 and then donated additional funds to replace a retiring dog.
“We had a chance to see what these animals can do in a real-world situation,” Reece Duca said. “You realize that the combination of these well-trained handlers and extraordinary dogs can do things to protect the community that neither can do by themselves ...
“It’s an extraordinary resource for our community and makes it safer for all of us.”
— Noozhawkstaff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNewsand @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.