New police dog on duty

The Ponca City Police Department has finally found a dog who fits its needs perfectly.

The first dog Koda was brought back to the breeder because of mange. Ben Garrison, PCPD dog handler was then given Blitz. Garrison said Blitz is a Belgian Malinios, which are a little more drive enacted compared to German shepherds like Koda, who are more methodical.

“He is a little bit different," Garrison said. "He is a little more prey drive orientated. He doesn’t want to play with his toys much when it’s with me. Koda was very much, he wanted to play with me with his toys. Blitz kind of likes to just take his toy and just have it. If I want to mess with him or whatever that’s just fine, but he doesn’t need me in any way, shape or form for that purpose. He has a really good personality, he is a lot of fun to work and he is a lot of fun to watch work. I think with this dog the police department basically just needed someone to chauffeur him around. I just drive him and he does all the work once we get there.”

Garrison said Blitz is a better fit for the job. Although Koda was slower to jump in, he found a home with Oklahoma Highway Patrol doing highway narcotics work. Blitz has received the same narcotics training through the Council on Law Enforcement, Education and Training. This training means he can detect the four most common drugs in Oklahoma, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and cocaine.

Garrison said they will tighten up apprehension and scenarios next week and be OHP certified, as well.

“This is basically just a basic training class," Garrison said. "It would be like a solider going to boot camp, something along those lines. The extended training is where we get the more advanced stuff, and that’s the training he and I go through with other trainers in the state of Oklahoma once a week, throughout the rest of his career.”

Between his continuous training Blitz will help clean up the streets. For example on Tuesday, he found enough cocaine and meth in a vehicle to prove possession with intent to distribute. Then that night he did a short patrol attempting to find the suspect who robbed a gas station.