Camo: Hero, Partner, Crimefighter
The Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency staff was saddened to hear of the passing of Camo, a local K-9 officer who covered a fairly big region. With budget cuts, there have been less K-9 units in our area. These remarkable dogs work hard and their training is extensive as well as specialized. We learned a lot about the Orlando K-9 officers during Crime Con in 2023.
Camo’s Department Announced on 08-Jan-2025:
The Washington Township Police Department regrets to announce the passing of K9 Camo.
Camo proudly served Washington Township, Washington Borough and Oxford Township from June 15, 2018 until his passing on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Being a rescue, he was no stranger in overcoming obstacles which he persevered through during his police K9 training. Throughout his career, Camo was involved with large-scale narcotics operations that led to significant seizures of drugs, firearms, and currency. He assisted the public in many search and rescue operations and successfully helped lost children and elderly adults find their way back home.
Camo’s favorite job was performing demonstrations for local organizations, especially the local Girl Scouts and for our community at National Night Out. We will keep Camo in our thoughts and we extend our condolences to his handler, Ptl. Overko and his family, who will miss him greatly.
From Gus, Oliver, and the human staff at our little detective agency, we are terribly sorry for the loss that comes with Camo’s passing. May memories of him help his human home and work families through their grief.
K-9 Work
What you may not know is that working dogs have specialized sets of skills, much like Liam Neeson. There are dogs better for scent tracking whether it’s Search & Rescue, cadaver location, explosives, foods that shouldn’t come through customs, and of course, illegal drugs. There are dogs who have the agility, loyalty, and strength who are suited for K-9 patrols. Those dogs may be asked to do multiple tasks from sniffing around a vehicle or building to protecting other people in the area by taking down targeted individuals.
K-9 unit vehicles might even have specialized equipment like buttons for the Officer-Handler to easier open a side door to release their canine partner and get the “go to work” command.
One story that I was told about a local K-9 team was that some of their frequent calls were to find people with failing memories like Alzheimer’s patients or people on the autism spectrum who follow their senses of curiosity without realizing the dangers.
- K-9 Units are great for community relations. Their demonstrations and educational showcases alone bring people together to learn about these hard working dogs.
- K-9 dogs often make it to retirement age. Usually their handler’s family will formally adopt them and take over the responsibility of any medical care that may be needed.
- If a K-9 dog is hurt on the job, they can go to the nearest emergency room. Veterinary ERs can be scarce (I know; I’ve driven over an hour trying to save a squirrel).
- Sometimes K-9 dogs can wear body armor. There are pros and cons to it. It can be too hot for a dog to wear in hot weather which limits the length of time a dog can be on duty.
Potential K-9 dogs and their handlers have to be trained and certified as a team. They have to be in sync. When dogs are assigned to a new partner, there’s an adjustment period where they may be wondering where their person is just like other kinds of new home situations. We learned about this in Orlando when one officer was promoted so he had to assign his K-9 to a new officer in the squad.
Unlike the Orlando squad, our local Officer Camo wasn’t from a special breeder or broker. Camo was a rescue! There are plenty of people who have little faith in rescued animals—believing a myth that they come with trauma that can never be overcome and they can never be trained. It’s simply not true. Don’t forget: a lot of things in TV dramas are straight up fiction or exaggerated (not that we’d know anything about that here). Operating a K-9 squad is quite expensive and time-consuming. The teams are on-the-clock when their training. As I said, it may involve investments in new vehicles and equipment like those gigantic padded suits shown in “bite training” scenes.
If you get the privilege of meeting any kind of working animal and their human, ask permission first before approaching or trying to pet. When animals are working, they need to be focused.
References:
By clicking this Crime Con 2023 link, you will leave this site and go to the human’s personal blog where some pages are nsfw.
Wyllie, D. “A K-9 Unit Has Benefits for Police Departments and Communities Alike,” Police Magazine, April 12, 2019. https://www.policemag.com/blogs/patrol/blog/15315653/a-k-9-unit-has-benefits-for-police-departments-and-communities-alike (accessed09-Jan-2025)