Fix, who works security at Spectrum Health Butterworth campus, has been trained in explosive material detection.
Fix and Karcher perform other duties, more serious in nature, since their training at Honor Camp specialized in explosives detection. Fix’s primary skill is detecting explosive material, and his job is to keep the Spectrum Health Butterworth campus free from explosive devices or materials. The team also clears areas prior to events and visits from highprofile guests. At Honor Camp, Fix learned how to detect explosive material using positive-reward training, with a Kong rubber toy on a rope as the reward. Fix now knows the click of his collar means it’s time to work. “This training was tough and we both became successful from making mistakes and then learning from them,” Karcher said.
Sabre checks a car for narcotics during training.
Training involves repeated interaction with explosive material, as well as non-explosive material. Located within empty paint cans, materials of both types are hidden from Fix. When he accurately detects the desired material, Fix gets the one thing he has been waiting for – the red Kong toy Karcher keeps in his pocket. “This training was as much for me as it was for Fix, since this is my first role as a K-9 handler,” Karcher said. Sabre, a 2-year-old German Shepherd Dog, hails from the Netherlands. He’s part of a specialized K-9 team with the Kent County Sheriff Department. Sabre joins K-9 members Bart, who works on the vice squad detecting narcotics; Ritzey, one of only two arson-detection dogs in Michigan; and Joe, a drug detection and tracking dog. Alderink handled Joe, who is set to retire Dec. 31, as well as Sabre. As part of the Kent County Narcotics Enforcement Team, Alderink and Joe participated in a Grand Rapids drug bust in 2011 that yielded the state record for a marijuana seizure – 12,000 pounds.
14 Dogs Unleashed November/December 2014
Assets from successful narcotic seizures covered the cost and training for K-9s. The cost of bringing Sabre to the U.S. and his training came to $12,000, Alderink said. Sabre, named in honor of Lansing Police Department K-9 Sabre -- who was killed in the line of duty in 1999 -- now makes his home with Alderink and Joe. “Sabre and Joe get along really well at home, although sometimes Sabre can be the annoying kid brother, wanting to play with Joe constantly,” Alderink said. Alderink joined the Kent County Sheriff Department as a road patrol deputy in 1996. After stints as a detective and handler in K-9 narcotics detection, Alderink returned to patrol. “I am very passionate about being a K-9 handler after having worked Joe,” Alderink said. “I saw an opportunity to start a Patrol K-9 Unit with the Kent County Sheriff Department and knew that returning to the road with a new, younger dog would be a great beginning to an outstanding asset.” Sabre is a “multi-purpose” police K-9 and as such is trained in narcotics detection, building search, article search, tracking and the apprehension