Policeman’s best friend: K-9 Deuce is 4

Last Updated on Monday, 30 January 2012 13:44 Written by Ann Richardson Wednesday, 01 February 2012 00:00

OCEAN CITY — Tough, determined and very well trained, he’s sniffed out and tracked down more criminals than any other Ocean City police officer.

His name is Deuce; he proudly wears badge 306 and a specially-designed bulletproof vest.

Ocean City’s only four-legged police officer turned 4 in January. According to Capt. Steve Ang, Deuce is a big asset to the OCPD.

“In our view, the K-9 program has been very successful for both the citizens and the police department,” Ang said. “When you look at his history, at the crimes he’s helped us solve, he’s been very helpful.

“When you use a trained police dog, you don’t have to put a human officer in danger, in the line of fire,” he said.

Smell is a dog’s primary sense; it’s said to be 1,000 times more sensitive than a human’s, according to a study by Auburn University.

“A dog is able to sniff out a bad guy, when a human officer is not,” Ang said. “Deuce has a much better chance of finding a bad guy hiding.”

In fact, Deuce was able to sniff out a criminal hiding in the crawl space of a south end duplex, among other locations. The threat of releasing him forced a criminal hiding in an ice cream parlor, during a burglary in progress, to surrender.

“The bad guy just came out,” Ang said. “With a potentially armed suspect, you never know what could happen. In many incidences, we didn’t have to put a police officer in harm’s way. When a bad guy is hiding out of sight, in many cases a police officer might never find him.”

Criminals, Ang said, often have an inherent fear of a police dog.

“He’s been an asset to the police department because of the work he is capable of doing, but he’s been a very good ambassador for the police department and the city,” said Officer John Vogt, Deuce’s human partner.

Deuce lives with the Vogt family; when he’s working, he’s a police officer, when he’s at home, he’s a family pet.

“He’s quite the family dog,” Vogt said. “He’s adapted very well. When he’s off duty, he relaxes and hangs out with the family.”

As much as Deuce enjoys family life, when Vogt opens the door to the police car and puts Deuce’s vest on, he’s all business.

“He knows he has to be able to respond, and he’s a different dog when we are in work mode,” he said. “I put him in the car and he’s a police dog, not a pet.”

The duo works the night shift for the OCPD; when they’re not at work, they’re on call. Since Ocean City’s K-9 unit is part of a shared services agreement with several surrounding communities, they could be called into work in Ocean City or almost anywhere in Cape May or Atlantic counties.

They spend the better part of 24 hours together; when they’re not at work or play, they visit schools and youth programs, senior centers, clubs and community centers. Two days a month they attend training sessions at the new, state-of-the-art training center in Corbin City.

Last year, Vogt and Deuce competed in the United States Police Canine Association, District 15, Police Dog 1 Trials; they won several trophies and medals.

In 2010 and 2011, Deuce was involved in 31 building searches, 29 incidents where he tracked down or suspended a criminal, 13 incidents where he forced a criminal to give up, and 48 car searches. He sniffed 261 cars during motor vehicle stops. He generated and/or assisted with 15 search warrants.

Deuce was involved in a drug bust that uncovered seven pounds of marijuana last year.

Deuce was born in the Czech Republic; after months of training, he came to the United States and worked with Vogt for 16 weeks in patrol training, learning to track criminals, obedience, evidence searches, agility and criminal apprehension.

He spent an additional 12 weeks in narcotics training, learning to sniff out marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, methamphetamine and ecstasy.

“He has to undergo monthly training to make sure he continues to perform up to the Attorney General’s guidelines for the United States Police Canine Association,” Vogt said.

At four, Deuce is about halfway through his police career. Most police dogs work six to nine years, Vogt said.

“He’s in the second half,” Vogt said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get another dog working soon, to join Deuce.”

The cost of purchasing, training and maintaining Deuce, including retrofitting a police car, food, veterinary bills and other costs, are all paid for through donations. The OCPD hosts numerous fundraisers through the year.

“The community has funded the operating budget,” he said. “We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of support from the community.”

Deuce, he said, has developed a nice rapport with his fellow officers. When Vogt is filing reports and has work to do at the police department, Deuce hangs out.

“He hangs out, but when he comes in the building he goes right to his special spot and gets a biscuit,” he said. “It’s kind of cool thing, it’s nice to have him around.”

While Deuce boasts some impressive stats, Vogt said his real value is hard to determine.

“The deterrent factor is hard to measure,” he said. “We don’t know how many crimes he was able to prevent. A barking dog is a big deterrent. Just his mere presence has prevented a lot of crimes.

“He’s a great dog, a great police officer,” Vogt said.

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