The English word “spirit” is derived from the Latin word “spiritus,” meaning “spirit, soul, courage and vigor.”
The English word “spirit” is derived from the Latin word “spiritus,” meaning “spirit, soul, courage and vigor.”
It is a fitting name for a full-bred German Shepherd K9 who inspirits the true meaning of wearing his canine badge and being on call 24/7 for the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office.
Spirit’s dedication is equally matched by his partner and handler, Deputy Jacob Smith, a Chardon High School alum.
“We put in hundreds of hours of training with our K9s each year,” Smith said. “This assists us in patrolling the streets of Geauga County day and night with our partners. While the public is at work or fast asleep, our K9 units are hard at work locating dangerous narcotics, tracking down criminals, finding evidence from serious crimes and keeping the peace in this county.”
This specialty unit consists of four experienced handlers including Deputy Greg Bordan and K9 Rotar; Deputy James Dhayer and Miner; and Deputy Travis Goodwin and Argo.
The dogs are trained and certified through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission and the North American Police Work Dog Association in the areas of narcotics detection, explosive detection, tracking, article search, area search, building search, obedience, and handler protection.
“The canines are a very important to our daily duties, they can detect narcotics or explosives in many different areas or places,” said Dhayer, who leads their weekly training sessions and has been a K9 handler since 2003.
He added, “They can track lost people or suspects that try to evade arrest. The canines are also trained to protect their handlers. The handlers are picked by an evaluation process, usually deputies that have been a law enforcement officer for several years, they have to be committed to be a handler 24 hours a day, seven days a week and available for call out at any time.”
Smith has aspired to follow in his dad’s footsteps for as long as he can remember.
His father, Ronald Smith, was chief deputy of Geauga County from 1977-1985, beginning in his late 20s.
“My father assisted in starting the first K9 in 1981 with Deputy McCafferty and K9 Bandit,” Smith said. “Growing up, I always took an interest in what he did, which led me to my decision on entering this profession at a very early age. Joining the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office was a huge accomplishment to myself as I am now following my father’s lead. I have just completed my 10th year at the sheriff’s office and have enjoyed putting on my uniform and coming to work every night.”
This elite law enforcement group also assists other agencies who do not have K9 units available to them, and does numerous dog demonstrations year round, including in Lake, Ashtabula, Trumbull, Portage and Cuyahoga counties.
“Our dogs are very diverse in that they tract people if they are lost or have committed a crime,” said Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand. “They also protect the dog handler and one works in three counties as an explosive sniffing dog. They are great assets to have.”
On a recent drizzly weekday morning, training took place on the grounds of Pioneer Waterland in Chardon.
The words “that’s a good boy” and “good dog” could be heard time and time again, as the accomplished athletes and law enforcers repeatedly and successfully accomplished their training missions both inside shelters and across the outside grassy fields.
“It is a special dedication to be a dog handler, they train with the dogs every week and take the dog home every night,” Hildenbrand said. “They love their dogs and not just everyone has that much dedication.”
He added, “These dogs do not only help track people and find drugs. There are many times that just the presence of the dog that ‘smart people’ decide not to do something wrong.”
Handlers not only take their partners home but they continue that special relationship into retirement.
Smith explained this special bond of “Man’s Best Friend” and live-with-forever partner.
“The bond with a law enforcement K9 is unique and impressive,” Smith said. “We are together day and night. There is not a time I can remember looking around an area and not seeing him. It has been a great experience watching him learn and master his job over the past five years. It is noticeable that K9 Spirit takes his job of protecting me to the extreme and I know he always has my back. You have a partner 24/7. It’s the best job in law enforcement.”
Smith added, “We work well together as a team and are able to assist regularly in dangerous situations and we appreciate our sheriff, administration and the public for their continued support of our team.”
Geauga County Recorder Sharon Gingerich and Totally Dogs 4H Club will host their ninth annual benefit dinner and silent auction benefitting Geauga County Dog Shelter and Geauga County K9 Unit June 15 at Century Village Museum in Burton Village. Cost is $25 per person. Tickets are available at recorder’s office or dog shelter.
