By Barrett J. Brunsman for news.cincinnati.com
PIERCE TOWNSHIP, OHIO – A police dog has started attending school with children at three local elementaries.
Dougie, a 14-month-old Labrador retriever who arrived last week from North Carolina, began the assignment Thursday with Jason Doerman, 32, a school resource officer with the Pierce Township Police Department.
“We went to Locust Corner (in the) morning, and we greeted one busload of children,” Doerman said. “He did very well. He loves to be petted. About 30 kids were all saying, ‘Look at the dog! What’s his name?’ ”
Dougie the Drug Dog and Doerman also planned to visit Merwin Elementary and St. Bernadette Catholic school on Thursday.
The dog will spend about two hours every day in each of the three schools, which have a total of about 1,200 pupils, Doerman said.
Dougie will help the police department build a positive relationship with kids, Chief James T. Smith said.
The dog will go to classrooms when Doerman talks about the dangers of drugs and other topics, such as bullying.
He was bought for $4,500 with the help of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. The rest of the $10,000 grant will pay for the training, equipment and care of the dog.
Dougie already knows some search techniques, but he has yet to be trained on what types of drugs to locate, Doerman said. His specialty will be prescription drugs that are commonly abused.
After 160 hours of training that is to begin this month, “we believe he will be only the second formally trained prescription drug dog in the United States,” Doerman said. “By December, we’ll be certified and ready to go.”
Dougie is expected to help police search for drugs in middle schools, high schools and other spots throughout Clermont County, Doerman said. In addition to pharmaceuticals, he will be trained to sniff out heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.
Dougie will have a blog so kids can communicate with him on the Internet – “as soon as we teach him to type,” Smith said. “Officer Doerman will help with much of the typing.”
The dog will live with Doerman and his family when not on duty. Dougie is the second police dog on the force.
Razec, a 6-year-old German shepherd, has been with the police department for about five years, working with a different handler, Smith said.
When was the last time Jason pulled a knife on someone? He was a cop when he did it to me and a cop when he did it to the guys on Glenway Ave. Coward. Cops are allowed to do as they please. If anyone else pulls a knife they are gunned down and its justified. If a cop does it, he is fired and then re-hired in another county.