High price paid for a new Belgium Malinous dog trained in narcotics detection
When Athens County Sheriff’s deputies make a big drug bust, it’s not uncommon to hear them yelling to one of their own in French.
That’s because the department’s drug detection dog, a 4-year-old male Belgian Malinois named Ryder, is a native of France.
The office bought the $11,500 dog about a year-and-a-half ago from France after deputy John Kulchar, 29, completed a six-week training program at Storm Dog Tactical in Sunbury, Ohio, north of Columbus.
Importing police dogs from abroad is a common practice for law enforcement agencies nationwide, according to Kulchar, who has handled dogs since he was 18 years old.
But when the Ohio University Police Department bought a bomb-sniffing dog of their own this year though a $28,000 grant, it came from a much closer destination — a rescue facility in Franklin County — and $8,000 of the grant was used for the bomb-sniffing dog and its training.
“The bomb squad in Columbus located (the dog for OUPD) because they evaluate the dogs and decide whether or not they will be a good, suitable candidate,” Kari Lindberg, canine handler for the Columbus Fire Department Bomb Squad said.
However, Kulchar said 99 percent of all police dogs are imported, adding the reason most are imported is because the dogs’ family bloodlines have roots in France or Germany.
The Sunbury program offers the graduates, like Kulchar, international contacts so they have opportunities to buy police dogs from France or Germany. Kulchar explained that the choice of dog relies on what contacts the trainer has in each country, and what’s available at European kennels.
Ryder is certified in narcotics detection, handler protection and other patrol categories, according to the sheriff’s office’s website.
When the county decided to buy Ryder from France most of the cost was covered by donations from the community and local businesses, Kulchar said.
One of these efforts included an auction.
“The total price (of the dog) included the training and equipment,” he said.
It wasn’t the first time Athens County had a foreign canine on staff. Kulchar said the last dog handler had a dog from Germany.
Although the department has utilized dogs from Germany and France, they can borrow OUPD’s American bomb-sniffing dog if needed.
“(American dogs) are still high-driven,” Kulchar said. “They have a little bit of a calmer spirit about them.”
He said German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are very high-driven, making them well suited for police dog work.
Kulchar explained that police-trained K-9 Belgian Malinois dogs are only available from Germany or France, and are worth importing from abroad.
“At the sheriff’s office, we work on a budget,” Kulchar said. “We looked for the best training and a good price, and that’s what happened.”
All of Ryder’s commands are in French, though Kulchar doesn’t share the commands due to security reasons.
With Ryder being the only drug detection K-9 dog in Athens, other officials in the Sheriff’s Office are fond of him, including Interim Sheriff Rodney Smith who has said “he’s a very good dog.”
Smith added handling K-9 dogs “is a way of life” for Kulchar.
“I’m very proud of him and what direction he’s taken our dog program here,” Smith said.
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