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St. Louis Officer Pete
St. James and his partners Bo and Lucy are part of the K9 Sector and
one evening in March 2007 the three of them made a special visit to
the St. Louis County Library Headquarters and provided the SinC STL
chapter with an interesting program.
Bo, the larger dog, is a
pure bred German Shepherd bred in Czechoslovakia with specific
traits that make him a great crime fighting dog. Almost
all of the police dogs owned by the department are from approved
breeders. Only those dogs that are approved by the veterinarian have
a chance at being reviewed for a position on the police force.
Bo is trained for patrol
duties and also has some unique skills. In addition to patrol,
he is also trained to sniff out bombs! He spends a lot of time
on patrol, but some months he can spend up to fifty percent of his
time helping find explosives. He helps keep patrons safe by
doing his job during special events in the city. Another
special thing about Bo is that he is bi-lingual and understands
English, German, and as Officer St. James says, "broken Czech."
Obedience is key in training. And police dogs train often.
Generally males are used in
patrol work because they will go after a suspect when directed where
females have a tendency to stay and protect their owner. But
female dogs can still play a role in duties performed by police. |
While Bo dons a bullet
proof vest, the only vest Lucy wears is a life vest. Lucy is a
cadaver dog and unlike Bo, she is a rescue dog from St. Charles, MO.
 Though
the police department does not usually obtain dogs from rescue
groups, this group saw something special in Lucy and contacted the
department to have them see if, in fact, Lucy had the special
qualities it takes to be a cadaver dog. Although there are other
cadaver dogs in St. Louis, Lucy is the only one on the police force.
It is not all work for Bo
and Lucy, they live with Officer St. James at his home and when out
on the town at public events, like the night they visited our
chapter, both dogs receive their fair share of petting, scratching,
and an occasional treat.
It was a great experience
to be among some of St. Louis' finest.
 Officer
St. James was generous with his time and gave the audience a great
opportunity to ask both technical and personal questions about the
dogs and their lives at home and on the police force.
A special thank you to
the St. Louis County Library for opening their doors to this crime
fighting team.
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