February 17, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of the Cape CopCast, step into the life of K9 Officer Travis Harrison and his remarkable K9 partner, Van. Discover firsthand how Travis evolved from a professional baseball player, to working in real estate, to a patrol officer, to now a dedicated K9 handler.
Officer Harrison sits down with hosts Lisa Greenberg and Officer Mercedes Simonds to talk about the rigorous yet fascinating process of selecting and training police dogs, and the the intricate balance required to maintain Van's professional discipline in a loving home environment.
Officer Harrison talks about bringing Van home for the first and how he got his name (a nod to our Deputy Chief!). He also shares how he keeps up with the high-energy German Shepherd. Gain unique insights into the life of a K9 Officer, including the stark differences between working dogs and personal pets, and the rewarding yet demanding nature of the role. Through the lens of Officer Harrison's multifaceted career path, we explore the unexpected ways his previous experiences have influenced his approach to police work.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Cop
cast.
I'm Lisa Greenberg, I'm one ofyour hosts and I'm Officer
Mercedes Simons.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Together we make up the Public Affairs Office.
We have a very special guesttoday.
Very, we have Canine Van on thepodcast with us.
What's up, dog?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I really am interested in what a day in your
life is like.
I really am interested in whata day in your life is like.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, I guess he's all bark and no bite today.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah, let's go ahead and bring in his dad.
Today we have canine officerTravis Harrison with us.
How long have you been pairedwith, van?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I got him just over a year ago now.
Yeah, it's been great.
He's a handful, but I enjoyevery second of it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
That's awesome.
How does the process work?
Like are they?
Do you get them when they're?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
babies, or how old do you usually get them?
Yeah, so that depends.
And so you kind of go out andyou scout dogs.
So we have different places inFlorida that you know we'll go
and put dogs through tests andsee which ones we want.
Uh, when we got Van, I think hewas about 14 months old,
something like that, but it wasobvious in the six or eight dogs
that we were looking at he wasthe one that stood out and he
(01:15):
was the best, and so if you wantthat dog, you buy the dog there
and he comes home to you and hestayed the night at my house
the first night and that's kindof how it goes.
And so it's a littleintimidating, especially for me
because I'm a first time handler, but he's been great.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I have to know what it's like to essentially bring
this dog home with you everynight.
This dog is like an extensionof you once it becomes yours.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
What is that like?
Yeah, you like to think hetakes on your personality, but
they have their ownpersonalities as well, right?
So it was pretty obvious once Igot him he was full speed.
He was big, he was full speedand it was going to be up to me
to, like, control him.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
um, but I've loved that and um, so far, so good
does he get along with your kidsand everything like your family
?
Has he integrated or does hekind of have like a separate
work life?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
even at home it's still still pretty separate.
I mean, obviously we train thedogs to apprehend people right,
and so what we don't want is forthem to get super comfortable
at home.
I mean, he has a great life,don't get me wrong, but we don't
want him laying on the couchand not wanting him to come to
work, and so at home he sleepsin my room with me, he sleeps
next to me on the bed, but he'sin his crate.
So I take him out a bunch oftimes throughout the day but he
(02:26):
goes right back into his crate.
So the kids, their interactions, are like you have a milk bone
and they'll throw it into thecrate.
That's kind of fun.
But he gets along great with myother dog and so they can play
together, but with the kids it'sjust, they just stay separate.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
That's so interesting to me.
So before you were a canineofficer, were you on patrol?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I was on patrol.
I was on patrol for about twoyears or so.
I started in 21.
I worked Charlie night shiftfor about two years.
I always loved working with thecanine guys that were on my
shift and so when the tryoutcame up, I put my name in and
tried out and was lucky enoughto get it.
So super lucky, super happythat I'm doing what I'm doing
now.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Was that something that you always wanted to do?
Or did that just kind of pop upand you're like, hey, I like
hunting for drugs.
I think I'd be a good fit withthis.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It wasn't something I started that I wanted to do.
I didn't really know I when Ifirst started.
It was just I wanted to be agood cop.
I wanted to be a night shiftcop, that's all I cared about
and so I wanted to catch badguys.
I wanted to help people thatneeded help, just like the
regular stuff that patrol does.
But then you start going tosome priority calls with the K-9
(03:37):
guys and we were lucky enoughto have good K-9 guys on my
shift and so you start seeingwhat they do and you're like
that's pretty cool.
You know so.
Instead of you know, forexample, like take taking a
perimeter spot and someone'srunning and the canine guys get
to go run after them.
I'm like I'm faster than them.
I should be the one runningafter me.
You know so, like it's, it'ssomething to strive for, to want
(03:58):
to do, and when that spotopened up, I definitely wanted
it.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I heard low-key that you're actually kind of one of
the fastest runners on thedepartment.
Can you confirm or deny?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I haven't raced too many people.
And can you keep up with yourdog?
No, I cannot.
Well, so I can keep up withmost humans.
The first time I sent Van aftersomebody I thought it would be
like you know he's pulling awayfrom me a little bit but, no, it
was like and he's gone.
He's probably twice as fast asI am, so, uh, it's something to
get used to.
But uh, yeah, me and van, welike running after people for
(04:32):
sure.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I'm curious if youweren't sitting here doing this
podcast.
Obviously, what's like a day inyour life with a canine Like?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I got two great kids at home and a beautiful wife and
so they go to.
They go to school and so I liketo take them to school.
You know 6.30, I wake up, takevan out and let them run around
or take them on a walk,something like that, and then
put them in, take the kids toschool, come back Sooner, they
get back, take them out againand that's usually like a long
walk and then like someobedience training stuff, like
(05:01):
that kind of some basic stuff.
Let him go to the bathroomagain and then maybe do some
stuff around the house.
I love playing golf, so if Ican get out to the driving range
, I'll try to sneak out to thedriving range and then another
session with Van, I'll try totake a you know, an hour, two
hour nap, something like that,and then straight into work.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Your shift starts at five.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, I started five go to two.
Things happen.
But yeah, and then I get homeand then he eats again, and then
we do it all again the next day.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So you get like four hours of sleep.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
It's terrible.
Yeah, I'll get about four hoursand then I'll take a nap during
the day, so it's really notthat bad.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
It's kind of a price you pay to work the night shift,
which is what you wanted, plushave kids and be involved.
So you know, sometimes sleepgoes on the back burner.
I get it.
I think also people think ofcanine and they think of the dog
sniffing around for the drugsand all that.
But there is so much more to itthan that.
What other things do you guysutilize canines for?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, on the road I try to use them for as many
things as I can, because he'sway more talented than I am.
So you know he's usually he'susually right and I'm usually
wrong.
It's kind of how it works,right?
So it could be things like umarticle searches, someone
dropped something in the middleof field I will never find that.
People find it almost rightaway.
Um area searches obviouslytracks, and so we'll track
(06:25):
different kind of people, right.
So we'll track a bad guy, thatguy that ran, and we'll track a
kid that ran away, you know, inthe middle of the night from
home.
That isn't maybe going veryfast, that is just lost.
And obviously the drug stuff.
That's a big part of what we doand that's an important part of
what we do.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
We can use them for crowd control, that kind of
thing, because people are morescared of the dog than they are
of just about anything else, andso usually the dog works yeah,
the fear that dogs and gettingbit and still into so many
people is just kind of amazingto see how quickly people
surrender because, like you sayyou're going to get tased, they
keep doing whatever they'redoing, but if you say you're
(07:03):
going to get bit, they stop.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Oh yeah and they'll do crazy things if they know
they're going to get bit.
So I've had I've only been,I've been in the unit for a year
but only been like a certifiedtrainer for like seven months
I've had three people.
Uh, we've tracked them and theywere.
It was like it was either thedog or the water and they've all
jumped in the water.
So they're choosing thealligators over my dog and I'm
(07:26):
like that's pretty cool, but atthe same time sometimes I wish
they wouldn't.
But that's just the power ofthe dog, right, and it's fair.
They should be probably.
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I mean, I've been around Van and even I'm like
he's not the one that is likeokay, let me come over and
snuggle with you and pet.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
No, he's not even that way with me.
Oh, okay, I mean, he's nice youknow, I like to think he loves
me, but he has his own way ofshowing it.
Yeah, he's just, he's alwayshigh speed.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
so At least he's loyal, he's ready to work.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yes, we love that quality, we love a work ethic.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yes, I'm like oh man, it's.
You know it's going to leave amark it stinks.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
One of the other things too.
What were you doing beforeworking for the Cape Coral
Police Department?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
So I'm from Southern California.
I moved to Southwest Florida in2011.
I played for the MinnesotaTwins organization for like six
or seven years and then, oncethey finally fired me doing that
, I did some real estate youknow things and then I just
decided that I want to dosomething fun again and it was
(08:39):
just random.
I was like I want to be a cop,let's see how this goes.
And then signed up, did theoral board and stuff here and
they sent me to the policeacademy.
And here I am.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
What drew you in and is that why you run so fast?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I don't run as fast anymore, but I don't know
exactly what drew me into beinga cop.
I guess when I was not doingmuch and I was doing the real
estate thing, it just wasn't myspeed.
I wanted more action, I wanteda little more fun and that kind
of thing, and wasn't my speed Iwanted.
I wanted more action, I wantedlike a little more fun and that
kind of thing, and so I gave ita shot and it's worked out so
far.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
What position did you play in baseball?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
it's a lot of them yeah um, that's what happens
when you're not very good heyI'm sure you're better than you
give yourself credit for yeah soI played third base, played
left field, I played right field, played center field, played
first base, you know, so I Iplayed.
I played a bunch of differentones, but I would say mostly, uh
, third base and left field yeahit hits home what's that?
(09:36):
Nothing, oh boy, I missed it.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
I said it loves her puns but um boom gotcha.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
That's awesome.
Okay, so from from baseball,the real estate, to police work,
and now you're a canine officer.
What's next?
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Canine officer?
I don't see.
I mean that's now.
That could obviously change,but I don't see me doing
anything other than canine kindof what I want to do.
I enjoy, you know, being outthere and like being.
You know, being the first thatcalls being the guy that catches
the guy.
I want to be the guy that makesthe decisions on the spot and
like handles it.
I enjoy that.
My answer could be different.
People tell me all the time myanswers probably will be
(10:13):
different in a couple of years,but as of right now I don't see
me doing anything other than,hopefully, what I'm doing now.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
That's awesome, yeah, I mean, you're probably
committed to the workinglifespan of the dog and then
they retire with you, right, butthen do you have the option of
getting another dog, or is thatkind of like the transition
period of you decide, once yourdog is done working whenever it
comes to that for whateverreason to either get another dog
(10:39):
or move on to a different spot?
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Yeah, I would say, obviously that's not my call to
make, but I would guess that ifyou do a really good job with
your first dog, then and the andthe unit still wants you, and
the sergeant still wants you andall that then you'll you'll get
another opportunity to getanother dog, and so that's my
plan, just to to keep going andsee where it takes me.
But yeah, that's kind of how itworks.
I mean, I'm sure if after thefirst one, if you're like this
(11:05):
was not what I was signing upfor and I want to start sleeping
and, yeah, I have no interestin doing that.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Who needs sleep.
Right, and it's interesting too, because I think people
probably think that whoeverdecides to become a K-9 officer
must be like a dog person, butthese aren't really dogs in the
typical sense.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
No, I'll be in the neighborhood or something like
walking them, and I'm like beingcareful.
You know, someone will come upto me.
Oh, I had a German Shepherd,you know, and it's like I know
what they're like.
They, you know, and it's like I, I know what they're like.
They're crazy.
I'm like, and so you're beingnice, like yeah, okay I get it.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
I'm like you guys have no idea.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
No, this is not that.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Uh, it's like completely different right, this
isn't gonna give you kisses andcuddle no, no.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
So yeah, I mean I have another, uh, golden
retriever at the house and she'skind of like a little
overweight, fat golden retrieverand she's great.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's like the complete opposite of this animal
just for the people who want toknow van is a is a german
shepherd right that's what theytell me.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I still don't believe it.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
He's huge yeah like part bear.
Is that the other?
I think so.
It might be like wild animalpart moose, part part german
shepherd.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Uh yeah, he has a really big head and he's really
big.
But that's what I wanted, likeif I'm going to do it, like,
give me the biggest, baddest dogI can get and let's go do it.
You know, and he looks moreintimidating than he is with me.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
With you.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, he's not too bad.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You guys are best friends.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
I like to think so yeah, he's not too bad, you guys
are best friends.
I like to think so yeah, andhe'll let me someone not in a
(12:57):
sleeve, in a suit, that's likethat's the best reward for him,
and I want to.
You know, that's what you want.
You want to keep it that way.
Um, but he gets rewarded withtugs, treats if we're doing like
tracking, training, stuff likethat are there any other fun
facts before we uh go shop?
so my dog's name is canine vanand people always ask, like, why
is your dog named van?
So he's actually named afterdeputy chief phil van landshut,
(13:20):
and so obviously he's retiringsoon, so there's probably not a
whole lot of people that putthose together.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
But I didn't that's.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, that's who he's named after.
So, deputy chief, when he'sdone, at least there'll be a dog
named after him still working,hopefully.
So that'd be cool, that'sawesome, I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Did you pick the name or did someone else pick the
name?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
no, uh, sergeant drosso did, because they get
like some government name, like,for example, uh vans from
hungary, and then so you canname them, and then, as soon as
we picked them up, put them inthe back of the truck.
Uh, on the way home, you know,sergeant drosso texted me.
He said you know,congratulations, whatever, your
dog's gonna be named van namedafter deputy chief.
So awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, anything else you can think of.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I don't think so.
Guys, Thanks for what you'redoing.
This is fun.
That was great Thank you somuch for coming on.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
We appreciate you, of course.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us.
We'll see you next time.
Take care, stay safe.
Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Cop
cast.
I'm Lisa Greenberg, I'm one ofyour hosts and I'm Officer
Mercedes Simons.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Together we make up the Public Affairs Office.
We have a very special guesttoday.
Very, we have Canine Van on thepodcast with us.
What's up, dog?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I really am interested in what a day in your
life is like.
I really am interested in whata day in your life is like.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, I guess he's all bark and no bite today.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah, let's go ahead and bring in his dad.
Today we have canine officerTravis Harrison with us.
How long have you been pairedwith, van?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I got him just over a year ago now.
Yeah, it's been great.
He's a handful, but I enjoyevery second of it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
That's awesome.
How does the process work?
Like are they?
Do you get them when they're?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
babies, or how old do you usually get them?
Yeah, so that depends.
And so you kind of go out andyou scout dogs.
So we have different places inFlorida that you know we'll go
and put dogs through tests andsee which ones we want.
Uh, when we got Van, I think hewas about 14 months old,
something like that, but it wasobvious in the six or eight dogs
that we were looking at he wasthe one that stood out and he
(01:15):
was the best, and so if you wantthat dog, you buy the dog there
and he comes home to you and hestayed the night at my house
the first night and that's kindof how it goes.
And so it's a littleintimidating, especially for me
because I'm a first time handler, but he's been great.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
I have to know what it's like to essentially bring
this dog home with you everynight.
This dog is like an extensionof you once it becomes yours.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
What is that like?
Yeah, you like to think hetakes on your personality, but
they have their ownpersonalities as well, right?
So it was pretty obvious once Igot him he was full speed.
He was big, he was full speedand it was going to be up to me
to, like, control him.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
um, but I've loved that and um, so far, so good
does he get along with your kidsand everything like your family
?
Has he integrated or does hekind of have like a separate
work life?
Speaker 3 (02:03):
even at home it's still still pretty separate.
I mean, obviously we train thedogs to apprehend people right,
and so what we don't want is forthem to get super comfortable
at home.
I mean, he has a great life,don't get me wrong, but we don't
want him laying on the couchand not wanting him to come to
work, and so at home he sleepsin my room with me, he sleeps
next to me on the bed, but he'sin his crate.
So I take him out a bunch oftimes throughout the day but he
(02:26):
goes right back into his crate.
So the kids, their interactions, are like you have a milk bone
and they'll throw it into thecrate.
That's kind of fun.
But he gets along great with myother dog and so they can play
together, but with the kids it'sjust, they just stay separate.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
That's so interesting to me.
So before you were a canineofficer, were you on patrol?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I was on patrol.
I was on patrol for about twoyears or so.
I started in 21.
I worked Charlie night shiftfor about two years.
I always loved working with thecanine guys that were on my
shift and so when the tryoutcame up, I put my name in and
tried out and was lucky enoughto get it.
So super lucky, super happythat I'm doing what I'm doing
now.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Was that something that you always wanted to do?
Or did that just kind of pop upand you're like, hey, I like
hunting for drugs.
I think I'd be a good fit withthis.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It wasn't something I started that I wanted to do.
I didn't really know I when Ifirst started.
It was just I wanted to be agood cop.
I wanted to be a night shiftcop, that's all I cared about
and so I wanted to catch badguys.
I wanted to help people thatneeded help, just like the
regular stuff that patrol does.
But then you start going tosome priority calls with the K-9
(03:37):
guys and we were lucky enoughto have good K-9 guys on my
shift and so you start seeingwhat they do and you're like
that's pretty cool.
You know so.
Instead of you know, forexample, like take taking a
perimeter spot and someone'srunning and the canine guys get
to go run after them.
I'm like I'm faster than them.
I should be the one runningafter me.
You know so, like it's, it'ssomething to strive for, to want
(03:58):
to do, and when that spotopened up, I definitely wanted
it.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I heard low-key that you're actually kind of one of
the fastest runners on thedepartment.
Can you confirm or deny?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I haven't raced too many people.
And can you keep up with yourdog?
No, I cannot.
Well, so I can keep up withmost humans.
The first time I sent Van aftersomebody I thought it would be
like you know he's pulling awayfrom me a little bit but, no, it
was like and he's gone.
He's probably twice as fast asI am, so, uh, it's something to
get used to.
But uh, yeah, me and van, welike running after people for
(04:32):
sure.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I'm curious if youweren't sitting here doing this
podcast.
Obviously, what's like a day inyour life with a canine Like?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I got two great kids at home and a beautiful wife and
so they go to.
They go to school and so I liketo take them to school.
You know 6.30, I wake up, takevan out and let them run around
or take them on a walk,something like that, and then
put them in, take the kids toschool, come back Sooner, they
get back, take them out againand that's usually like a long
walk and then like someobedience training stuff, like
(05:01):
that kind of some basic stuff.
Let him go to the bathroomagain and then maybe do some
stuff around the house.
I love playing golf, so if Ican get out to the driving range
, I'll try to sneak out to thedriving range and then another
session with Van, I'll try totake a you know, an hour, two
hour nap, something like that,and then straight into work.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Your shift starts at five.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, I started five go to two.
Things happen.
But yeah, and then I get homeand then he eats again, and then
we do it all again the next day.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So you get like four hours of sleep.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
It's terrible.
Yeah, I'll get about four hoursand then I'll take a nap during
the day, so it's really notthat bad.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
It's kind of a price you pay to work the night shift,
which is what you wanted, plushave kids and be involved.
So you know, sometimes sleepgoes on the back burner.
I get it.
I think also people think ofcanine and they think of the dog
sniffing around for the drugsand all that.
But there is so much more to itthan that.
What other things do you guysutilize canines for?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, on the road I try to use them for as many
things as I can, because he'sway more talented than I am.
So you know he's usually he'susually right and I'm usually
wrong.
It's kind of how it works,right?
So it could be things like umarticle searches, someone
dropped something in the middleof field I will never find that.
People find it almost rightaway.
Um area searches obviouslytracks, and so we'll track
(06:25):
different kind of people, right.
So we'll track a bad guy, thatguy that ran, and we'll track a
kid that ran away, you know, inthe middle of the night from
home.
That isn't maybe going veryfast, that is just lost.
And obviously the drug stuff.
That's a big part of what we doand that's an important part of
what we do.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
We can use them for crowd control, that kind of
thing, because people are morescared of the dog than they are
of just about anything else, andso usually the dog works yeah,
the fear that dogs and gettingbit and still into so many
people is just kind of amazingto see how quickly people
surrender because, like you sayyou're going to get tased, they
keep doing whatever they'redoing, but if you say you're
(07:03):
going to get bit, they stop.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Oh yeah and they'll do crazy things if they know
they're going to get bit.
So I've had I've only been,I've been in the unit for a year
but only been like a certifiedtrainer for like seven months
I've had three people.
Uh, we've tracked them and theywere.
It was like it was either thedog or the water and they've all
jumped in the water.
So they're choosing thealligators over my dog and I'm
(07:26):
like that's pretty cool, but atthe same time sometimes I wish
they wouldn't.
But that's just the power ofthe dog, right, and it's fair.
They should be probably.
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I mean, I've been around Van and even I'm like
he's not the one that is likeokay, let me come over and
snuggle with you and pet.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
No, he's not even that way with me.
Oh, okay, I mean, he's nice youknow, I like to think he loves
me, but he has his own way ofshowing it.
Yeah, he's just, he's alwayshigh speed.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
so At least he's loyal, he's ready to work.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yes, we love that quality, we love a work ethic.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yes, I'm like oh man, it's.
You know it's going to leave amark it stinks.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
One of the other things too.
What were you doing beforeworking for the Cape Coral
Police Department?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
So I'm from Southern California.
I moved to Southwest Florida in2011.
I played for the MinnesotaTwins organization for like six
or seven years and then, oncethey finally fired me doing that
, I did some real estate youknow things and then I just
decided that I want to dosomething fun again and it was
(08:39):
just random.
I was like I want to be a cop,let's see how this goes.
And then signed up, did theoral board and stuff here and
they sent me to the policeacademy.
And here I am.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
What drew you in and is that why you run so fast?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
I don't run as fast anymore, but I don't know
exactly what drew me into beinga cop.
I guess when I was not doingmuch and I was doing the real
estate thing, it just wasn't myspeed.
I wanted more action, I wanteda little more fun and that kind
of thing, and wasn't my speed Iwanted.
I wanted more action, I wantedlike a little more fun and that
kind of thing, and so I gave ita shot and it's worked out so
far.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
What position did you play in baseball?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
it's a lot of them yeah um, that's what happens
when you're not very good heyI'm sure you're better than you
give yourself credit for yeah soI played third base, played
left field, I played right field, played center field, played
first base, you know, so I Iplayed.
I played a bunch of differentones, but I would say mostly, uh
, third base and left field yeahit hits home what's that?
(09:36):
Nothing, oh boy, I missed it.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
I said it loves her puns but um boom gotcha.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
That's awesome.
Okay, so from from baseball,the real estate, to police work,
and now you're a canine officer.
What's next?
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Canine officer?
I don't see.
I mean that's now.
That could obviously change,but I don't see me doing
anything other than canine kindof what I want to do.
I enjoy, you know, being outthere and like being.
You know, being the first thatcalls being the guy that catches
the guy.
I want to be the guy that makesthe decisions on the spot and
like handles it.
I enjoy that.
My answer could be different.
People tell me all the time myanswers probably will be
(10:13):
different in a couple of years,but as of right now I don't see
me doing anything other than,hopefully, what I'm doing now.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
That's awesome, yeah, I mean, you're probably
committed to the workinglifespan of the dog and then
they retire with you, right, butthen do you have the option of
getting another dog, or is thatkind of like the transition
period of you decide, once yourdog is done working whenever it
comes to that for whateverreason to either get another dog
(10:39):
or move on to a different spot?
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Yeah, I would say, obviously that's not my call to
make, but I would guess that ifyou do a really good job with
your first dog, then and the andthe unit still wants you, and
the sergeant still wants you andall that then you'll you'll get
another opportunity to getanother dog, and so that's my
plan, just to to keep going andsee where it takes me.
But yeah, that's kind of how itworks.
I mean, I'm sure if after thefirst one, if you're like this
(11:05):
was not what I was signing upfor and I want to start sleeping
and, yeah, I have no interestin doing that.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Who needs sleep.
Right, and it's interesting too, because I think people
probably think that whoeverdecides to become a K-9 officer
must be like a dog person, butthese aren't really dogs in the
typical sense.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
No, I'll be in the neighborhood or something like
walking them, and I'm like beingcareful.
You know, someone will come upto me.
Oh, I had a German Shepherd,you know, and it's like I know
what they're like.
They, you know, and it's like I, I know what they're like.
They're crazy.
I'm like, and so you're beingnice, like yeah, okay I get it.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
I'm like you guys have no idea.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
No, this is not that.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Uh, it's like completely different right, this
isn't gonna give you kisses andcuddle no, no.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
So yeah, I mean I have another, uh, golden
retriever at the house and she'skind of like a little
overweight, fat golden retrieverand she's great.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's like the complete opposite of this animal
just for the people who want toknow van is a is a german
shepherd right that's what theytell me.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I still don't believe it.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
He's huge yeah like part bear.
Is that the other?
I think so.
It might be like wild animalpart moose, part part german
shepherd.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Uh yeah, he has a really big head and he's really
big.
But that's what I wanted, likeif I'm going to do it, like,
give me the biggest, baddest dogI can get and let's go do it.
You know, and he looks moreintimidating than he is with me.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
With you.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, he's not too bad.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You guys are best friends.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
I like to think so yeah, he's not too bad, you guys
are best friends.
I like to think so yeah, andhe'll let me someone not in a
(12:57):
sleeve, in a suit, that's likethat's the best reward for him,
and I want to.
You know, that's what you want.
You want to keep it that way.
Um, but he gets rewarded withtugs, treats if we're doing like
tracking, training, stuff likethat are there any other fun
facts before we uh go shop?
so my dog's name is canine vanand people always ask, like, why
is your dog named van?
So he's actually named afterdeputy chief phil van landshut,
(13:20):
and so obviously he's retiringsoon, so there's probably not a
whole lot of people that putthose together.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
But I didn't that's.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, that's who he's named after.
So, deputy chief, when he'sdone, at least there'll be a dog
named after him still working,hopefully.
So that'd be cool, that'sawesome, I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Did you pick the name or did someone else pick the
name?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
no, uh, sergeant drosso did, because they get
like some government name, like,for example, uh vans from
hungary, and then so you canname them, and then, as soon as
we picked them up, put them inthe back of the truck.
Uh, on the way home, you know,sergeant drosso texted me.
He said you know,congratulations, whatever, your
dog's gonna be named van namedafter deputy chief.
So awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, anything else you can think of.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I don't think so.
Guys, Thanks for what you'redoing.
This is fun.
That was great Thank you somuch for coming on.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
We appreciate you, of course.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us.
We'll see you next time.
Take care, stay safe.
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