KILER THE K9 – MAN’S AND CROCKETT POLICE DEPARTMENT’S BEST FRIEND
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – For the first time, Houston County has an active K9 unit on call and ready to sniff out everything from narcotics to fleeing suspects. Kiler (pronounced ‘kai-ler’) is a three-year-old Belgian shepherd who works with Crockett Police Department (CPD) officer Nathan Key.
The Belgian shepherd breed, like its more well known German cousin was also bred for hunting. However, they tend to be lighter and healthier than German shepherds. Law enforcement around the world tend to favor the Belgian variety, due to their ability to stick with a job for a longer period of time and not get bored.
Officer Key has been a CPD officer for about three and a half years. He started working for the Crockett Fire Department, but when an open position was not available for him he transitioned into the police. Before returning home to Crockett to serve law enforcement, Key served in the army for 15 years.
CPD Chief Clayton Smith had the idea of creating a K9 unit for the force. Key volunteered enthusiastically to be the K9 officer. In January of this year, Key began his training to work as a canine officer.
“In January of this year, Kiler and I were paired up at Pacesetter K9 which is in Liberty Hill, Texas,” Key explained. “Kiler is a tracking and narcotics dog. He is not a patrol dog, or what is known as a ‘bite dog.’”
At the present time, Key and Kiler are the only K9 unit in Houston County. They are called out by various agencies to assist with tracking suspects or detecting narcotics. Kiler’s specialty are detecting heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, and MDMA – otherwise known as ecstasy.
The team have already worked with CPD and other Houston County law enforcement to detect and arrest suspects in cars, houses and even in the woods. They have logged three arrests with Texas Department of Safety (DPS) officers in the area.
The dogs are trained to give a ‘tell’ or an alert when they sense narcotics or hidden fugitives.
“Kiler’s alert is passive, which means he doesn’t scratch the car, like you see some dogs do, which is an active alert,” Key said. “He will sit and just focus on the odor he is detecting.”
“When we first got together he was very stand-offish. He didn’t know me and didn’t want to know me. He just wanted to work and go back to his cage. Recently, his playful puppy side has come out and we definitely have developed one heck of a bond,” Key noted.
Kiler himself proved to be the strong, silent type with few words for the Messenger. Off duty and sitting with patrol partner and adoptive father Key, Kiler becomes a puppy again – wanting attention, belly-scratching, and some good old-fashioned human-dog together time. Key uses special phrases with Kiler to get him to obey. Kiler seems to love both the attention and obeying Key’s commands.
Key explained the bond between the two goes beyond the work they do. “I always had a family dog. When I was in the Army we also used dogs and I was amazed what a dog can do when it’s trained.”
Kiler lives with Key and his family. Key’s children love Kiler, feed and play with him when he is off duty. It took a little while to get his diet and feeding times right to avoid car sickness. Most dog owners would be worried about letting the family pooch go on a police patrol to hunt suspects and narcotics. However, this is all in a day’s work for Kiler.
Part of Key’s training was to know when and where to deploy Kiler and when to hold back. The pair have backed off in certain situations where Kiler does not have the training necessary for a certain situation. The intense heat this summer was also tough for him – as for many of us.
Key hopes down the road to form a bigger K9 crew to work in Houston County. In the meantime, the pair will remain on patrol and ready for any calls where an expert nose is needed.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
