Willowick K9 handler says his partner knows when it's work time
Jul. 12—When they're at home, police department K9s are pretty much like pets. However, they know it's time to go to work when their handler is putting on their uniform, said Brian O'Toole, a K9 handler for Willowick Police Department.
"The second he steps in that car, he's a different dog," said O'Toole, who was previously with Fairport Harbor Police Department. It was there where he had the opportunity to become a K9 handler.
O'Toole has always been a dog person, he said.
"I grew up with dogs, always loved being around dogs and training them," O'Toole said. "Working with one would be the next way to advance myself in this career. My first dog was K9 Anchor. He retired about three years ago and I've had K9 Calibur. I've had him for about three years now."
Relationships between K9s and their handlers are similar in that the dogs go everywhere with them, and they are with them all day at work. Handlers almost spend more time with their K9s than their families, O'Toole said.
"They're our partners, and they have our backs 100%," he said. "When we're going to a call, the dogs know what we're doing before we even get there. They know how to read us when our stress level goes up, so we read off each other."
Calibur is a Dutch shepherd from Slovakia and is a dual purpose K9 for narcotics, tracking, searching and apprehensions. While every K9 will have a different personality, Shallow Creek Kennels strives to get high-drive dogs that will be best for the line of work and for different situations handlers may come across, O'Toole said.
"There's not a whole lot of Dutch shepherds out there," he said. "Painesville used to have one, Perry Village used to, but they're a lot like the Belgian Malinois," he said.
O'Toole trains 16 hours a month with other area K9 units in addition to attending a week-long training seminar in Michigan once a year. On slow work nights, O'Toole has met up with other handlers to train.
"You continue to train and work with your dog, and expose your dog to scenarios that are realistic to real life," O'Toole said. "We try to prepare our dogs to be the best so they perform in the real world, which they do. It does consume your time off. You always got to make sure they're taken care of, so you kind of have to bounce your schedule or vacations around that, and make sure your dog is taken care of by a person that can handle your dog."
For those interested in becoming a handler or for any new handlers out there, O'Toole said having the energy is important.
"Be the proactive officer that wants to get the drugs off the street and wants to go out and use their dog to keep their community safer," he said. "I'm extremely happy with what I'm doing and I love coming to work every day, so I hope to continue working with and growing with Calibur."
