K-9s on leave

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The McKinley County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit is temporarily suspended until officials renew insurance coverage for the dogs.

Under Sheriff John Yearley said officials are in the process of changing the three dogs' insurance provider and plan to continue coverage by Friday.

Yearley said re-certification for the dogs is also required before the new insurance provider will cover the animals. To comply with the provider's requests, both the handlers and the dogs attended a pair of conferences conducted by the Albuquerque Dog Handler's Association and the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association on March 28 and March 29.

"We're going to bring the dogs back on line as soon as possible," Yearley said. "You can imagine the multiplication of problems that would come up if some accident occurred and the dog's weren't covered."

He said the dogs are owned individually by their handlers, but that McKinley County leases them for use in the area for a small fee. That lease is also up for renewal.

"We've just got a lot of paperwork to deal with," Sheriff Felix Begay said. "But we really do depend on those dogs."

The department currently uses three dogs, but is planning for the purchase of an additional dog. All of the dogs are trained to detect narcotics and the third is trained to detain suspects.

"In actuality, we're expanding our K-9 unit," Yearley said.

Yearley said one of the dogs failed to pass a portion of its re-certification test. That dog will require remedial training, he said.

Within the last two years, the dogs have seized more than $5 million worth of illegal drugs and have recovered at least 12 stolen vehicles.

He said Apollo, who is handled by Deputy John Trevor-Smith, has found 32 suspects within a two-year period.

"He's an exceptional dog and he's an exceptional handler," Yearley said.

Yearley said the dogs assist other agencies such as the Navajo Nation Police Department, the Gallup Police Department and the FBI's safe trails task force.

Trevor-Smith did not immediately return phone calls from The Independent concerning the unit's temporary suspension.