One of the newest members of the Eunice Police force is Robin, a 13-month-old Belgium Malinois.
Robin has been trained in patrol, apprehension of suspects by force or bark, tracking and the odor of illegal drugs, said handler Lt. Michael Dunn.
The dog was purchased on July 9 for about $10,000 in Little Rock, Arkansas, where it was trained, Dunn said.
The Belgium Malinois is often used for police work because of the breed’s speed, strength and intelligence, Dunn said.
Dunn spent about two weeks training with Robin in Little Rock and returned July 21 to Eunice where the dog was used in a drug search and later clearing a crowd.
‘The dog comes completely trained. We have to maintain it. I actually had to go through an instruction school on how to teach the dog and how to maintain training,” he said.
Some 17 donations totaling about $4,900 helped pay for Robin. The remainder was paid for by the city.
In 2015, Eunice Police retired two police dogs, Zeus and Pullo, Dunn said, who was the handler for Zeus. Zeus, also a Malinois, has reverted from police work to a family pet for the Dunns, he said.
Pullo, a German shepherd, died about two monhts ago, Dunn said.
“It is a lot,” Dunn said about what’s involved in being a handler. The dogs have to be groomed, fed and trained for hours to maintain efficiency, he said.
“Teaching dogs new techniques takes a lot of training,” he said.
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said, “One use of the dog can be for clearing buildings.”
Using a dog for searches can spare placing officers in dangerous situations, he said.
While using a dog to spot drugs is obvious, Fontenot said a police dog is a great public relations tool in schools.
Dunn said the department is seeking a grant of about $55,000 to obtain a second dog and a police vehicle equipped as a K9 unit.
The K9 units have a special cage that ensures the dog’s safety, he said.
About Robin going to work in Eunice, Dunn said, “I actually used him Saturday night (July 22) to perform a search of a vehicle for narcotics.”
Drugs were not found, but later in the evening Robin was used to help clear a crowd.
Robin is to grow another 10 to 15 pounds, he said.
Dunn said if the public encounters Robin they should not attempt to pet him because the dog is trained to bite.
“Do not approach the dog without permission,” he said.
