The Good Life – July-August 2014

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dogs, there are “multi-use” and “single use” K-9’s, each trained for a variety of commands. K-9 Earl is a ‘sniff and track’ K-9 not an attack canine. And that is what nearly led to his early demise. Earl’s dad is Tazer, a five time award winner and one tough pooch. Earl was among the first of Tazer’s litters and was also among the first for K-9 training. When it became evident Earl was not “aggressive” enough — at least not in the world of K-9 dog’s, it became a concern regarding the rest of his training. K-9 trainers spend as much as twelve weeks constantly training the dogs used for police work. Afterward there is on-going ‘maintenance’ training as well. Typical costs for a K-9 is in the neighborhood of $10,000 for the original training and the on-going training to keep a dog sharp and in ‘tune’ for the work they are expected. When it was decided that Earl would not be a “attack/take down” K-9, the decision was made to concentrate on his keen ability to sniff out whatever was given him and to this day, K-9 Officer Earl has proved time and again he is well worth the expense and time of training him well. K-9 Earl has so far seized over $500,000 in drugs and assets seized due to drug busts. Earl has also helped in finding individuals who have become lost. One example was an elderly person sweet as one of my three dogs and he didn’t continue to furiously bark as others I’ve been around. At the same time, Earl would most definitely not be anything I would want hunting me or determining I was his ‘target’ of engagement and take down. Sgt. Vinson and Officer Earl have a very special relationship. <strong>The</strong>y have been together for seven years and when I say “together” they truly are. Earl not only goes to work with Sgt. Vinson, he also lives with Sgt. Vinson and his wife twelve months a year. To say Sgt. Vinson and K-9 Earl are best friends would be an understatement. But Earl’s career almost ended just as it was beginning. NOT YOUR MOVIE STANDARD POLICE DOG Originally from Austin, Minnesota, Earl has relatives on both the Fargo Police Department and the Cass County Sheriff’s Department. K-9 Falco and K-9 Bali of the Fargo police department are Earl’s nephews. K-9 Ed, a member of the Cass County Sheriff’s department Canine Unit is Earl’s brother. All three are a breed of canines called Belgian-Malinois. Fairly smaller than a typical German Shepard, K-9 Earl is a deep dark tan color with soft brown eyes and more anxious energy than the Energizer Bunny. Within the world of K-9 32 PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: GEORGE VINSON
who wandered away from home one afternoon. After hours of searching, K-9 Earl tracked and was able to lead Sgt. Vinson to locate the elderly man, sitting dazed and confused behind a neighbor’s garage. During a drug bust where the police were positive there was contraband or money, the car was towed to impound where the car was literally taken apart all to no avail. But Sgt. Vinson had observed Earl and believed there was definitely something being missed. Sgt. Vinson took Earl to the impound lot and let him go to the torn apart vehicle and there Earl sat and sat and sat. Finally, because the only section of the vehicle that had not been dismantled, it was decided to try reaching inside the gas tank — an area no one normally would place anything for obvious reasons. Inside the gas tank — floating within the gas they found a very well concealed package. K-9 Earl has won several championship awards and in 2010 K-9 Earl won the “National Case of the Year” award for street deployment police work. K9 Earl is the defending Regional champion in drug detection. He beat 83 other K9 teams in Anoka in March <strong>2014</strong> and took First Place Overall. It is one of K-9 Earl and Sgt. Vinson’s biggest 33
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The Good Life – July-August 2014

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