The Canine Unit

The Atherton Police Department Canine Unit was created to help the department with its primary function, the preservation of life and property. The Canine Unit assists in achieving this goal by promoting an atmosphere of service and safety in the community, utilizing canines in general and specialized patrol to enhance crime prevention, crime suppression, criminal investigation, and Police Officer/Citizen protection.

A particularly unique, challenging, and useful position, K-9 handlers are very carefully chosen, because this assignment is a commitment to a highly trained animal, as well as to the police department and community.  Police dogs are imported from other countries, such as Denmark and Germany .  Atherton Police utilize German Shepherd dogs.  The personality of the handler must be paired with that of the dog, and highly qualified trainers of police service dogs assist the department in this process.  Then, the handler and his/her new partner train together for several weeks, then several hours each week for the rest of the time that dog works for the police department.  The patrol cars are specially designed and modified for the comfort and safety of these dogs. 

The officers must learn to speak a considerable vocabulary of words in the language of the dog’s country of origin.  Most of the police dogs in the US come here with 2-3 years of intensive training, and most bring working dog titles, which reflect their high degree of training in disciplines such as scent detection, narcotic detection, searching for humans, etc.  There are even police dogs trained to detect explosive devices, and to search for people who are deceased. 

In Atherton, the police department is very grateful to specific residents who have come forward and donated funds to purchase our police dogs, to buy and set up the K-9 vehicles, and to pay for expenses such as high-quality canine food, veterinary care, and the tools and equipment used for K-9 training.  While many of these citizens have requested to remain confidential, the police department will never forget their generosity and support of this important part of our department. 

It is also important to note that surrounding communities often request the use of our K-9 teams to assist in searches of buildings and locations, so that dangerous suspects are apprehended quickly and safely.  If often takes a trained K-9 team only minutes to check a building or large open area for suspects, where it might take hours and a host of officers to safely contain an area long enough to do a thorough search without the dogs.  The dog’s nose can discern scent some 200-300 times better than a human.  The trainers tells us, for example, that if we smell a good stew cooking on the stove, a police dog can differentiate the scent of the meat, the potatoes, the vegetables, and the broth!

Even when the K-9 teams are not being used to search for suspects, they are a great partner to have as backup on a car stop, or any other call involving a person who may not want to cooperate with the police.  It is always amazing that when the K-9 team arrives, the suspects tend to become very cooperative, and they seldom try to run or hide from the officers.

The Handlers

The Atherton Police Department currently has Police Service Dog/Handler Teams:

The dogs live with their handlers and families. The dogs need time off to rest and have a normal social life just like their human partners. Retired dogs normally live with handlers for the rest of their lives.

The Atherton Police Department takes pride in its Canine Unit and its accomplishments. The unit is recognized by its peers as one of the best. Being a Canine Handler is one of the most desired specialty positions in the department. The handlers and their dogs often take part in competitions. In 1991, "Dax" (and his handler Chris Madsen) was the U.S.A. 's International Police Dog Champion. He won that award at a competition in Manassas, VA.