Interview with Elbert County Sheriff, Tim Norton, about his K9 Unit.
Read along as I interview Tim Norton, the Elbert County Sheriff about building a rural K9 Unit. If you would like to donate to our fundraiser for a training bite suit for Rico, please click here:
https://gofund.me/4712fae9 Thank you!
Career Experience
Jodi: Sheriff Norton, what is your career history and involvement with K9?
S.N.: I started my career just outside of Pittsburgh, where I was born and raised. Then I tested for Phoenix PD and got accepted by them and I did a lot of stints in patrol. I worked at the academy training officers, and then with nine years on, I tested for the K9 Unit. I got it and I spent the rest of my 22 years with the K9 Unit. I was a handler/trainer for over 22 years. I worked with four different dogs. Our K9 Unit was 18 dogs, so I was training 18 dogs.
Jodi: Wow. That’s a pretty substantial K9 Unit! Did they have kennels there or did the officers take their dogs home?
S.N.: We took them home. We did have kennels at the station, and we used those for if we went away on vacation, or something like that. Then the on-duty guys took turns caring for and feeding the dogs while they were in there.
Jodi: That’s cool. What about here? You have one dog? Does he pretty much live with your deputy?
S.N.: One dog, Rico. He goes home with Mike. When he goes away, like he went away in May, and got married, we have a contract with Elizabeth Kennels over here on Hwy 86. We put him there for a few days.
Jodi: Oh, okay. So, did you retire with any of your dogs? Did you keep any of them?
S.N.: Oh, yeah. I took them all home.
Jodi: You did? All four?
S.N.: Yeah, Jake and Kai, the last one, those were the only two I had at the same time. The other two had gone. When I got Jake, Axel just passed. When Jake retired, I brought Kai home, and that was hard. (laughter) Plus, we had a two other dogs at home besides that. Two police dogs and another female German Shepherd, and an English Mastiff.
Jodi: Wow! Four big dogs! That’s great, but crazy.
How did you get interested in K9 in the first place down in Phoenix?
S.N.: I was an FTO (Field Training Officer), brand new out of the academy and we were answering calls, calls, calls. I went on a burglary call one night at a restaurant and they called for a K9 to search the building, and I thought, Wow, that is pretty cool. I want to do that. So, I started volunteering with the K9 unit. Wearing the suit, hiding in the buildings, and going to trainings. I did that for three years. I took the test once before, but I died on the list, and I took the test again and ended up number two. They ended up having two retirements and so I ended up getting to go.
Jodi: Nice. It’s a very competitive position. People really want to be on the K9 team.
S.N.: Very competitive. I’m assuming it’s like that everywhere else too. And once you get there, you never want to leave. Friends asked, ‘Don’t you want to promote?’ and I said, ‘Heck no. I have the greatest job in the world.’ It was really hard to retire because I had the best job in the world, but it was time.
Jodi: I was just at the Writer’s Police Academy up in Green Bay, Wisconsin about two weeks ago, and they did a K9 presentation. It was really cool, and one of the guys on the Unit was actually a detective. A detective with K9, which I’d never seen before, and was kind of cool.
S.N.: The K9 Unit in Phoenix is expanding. They are separating. I was K9 for patrol. The airport had their own K9 Unit, and the Light Rail had their own too. But we never really trained together. The bomb squad had their two dogs, and there was one or two dogs in the Drug Enforcement Bureau.
Jodi: That’s awesome that they have so many dogs and so many options.
S.N.: Every year they have the, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, the Dessert Dog K9 Trials?
Jodi: No, I haven’t.
S.N.: (Points to a photo of a black German Shepherd sitting in front of a row of trophies) That dog on it three years in a row. Those are all his trophies from winning those. It’s a two-day competition with police and military dogs from all over. We’ve had them from Boston, from New York, military from all over. They show up in Scottsdale every October. It’s a two-day competition and he won it three years in a row. After the third year, they asked me to judge instead of competing.
Jodi: (laugh) Yeah, you need to move on. So, what are the events the dogs compete in?
S.N.: There’s narcotics – a building search, there’s handler protection, agility, for bomb dogs, they have an explosives detection. They have what I call an obstacle course, but they have obstacles with handlers doing tactical maneuvers and people with bite suits and it’s about keeping control of your dog. There’s area search – a fenced yard search basically. It’s five or six different events and you get timed plus scored, and they use both of those for the scoring and it’s very competitive.
Jodi: I bet. Especially with military dogs too. That’s incredible.
S.N.: One guy from California came every year. He saw me there on the first day when they put on a training seminar for everybody. It’s different every year. Part of the day is vet care: how to handle bloat, how to treat your dog for trauma. While we were training the California guy pulled on and saw me. He said, “Tim, please tell me you’re judging. Because if you’re not, I’m just going to leave.” I wasn’t judging that year, but I said, “Come on, let’s just have some fun.” It’s a good time.
Jodi: It sounds like a great event either way.
S.N.: It’s open to the public.
Jodi: Really?
S.N.: Yeah. They used to have it at the Scottsdale Spring Training Stadium for the Giants. It was open to the public and they had vendors, food booths, all kinds of different things with pet stuff and police stuff and stuff for the kids. It was pretty cool.
Jodi: That’s really cool. I’m going to have to look into that.
S.N.: The organization I was the president of, Arizona Law Enforcement K9 Association, they’re the ones who sponsored it. We’d have our booth there and T-shirts and stuff. We’d sell all that stuff to help put these events on. Then in the summertime, and they have one coming up in July, they go up into the mountains in Prescott Valley and they do a three-day training seminar for handlers. What they would do, and this is pretty unique, is on Tuesday, they have an all-day training. They bring in an instructor, and then at night they’d have a big dinner, then put everybody in groups, and then give them a map of the town. Then they’d have scenarios at every location from 7pm to 2am. Then you come back the next night for dinner and then start all over again for different scenarios. I want to send Mike to that. I just have to make sure I have enough street coverage. He just got back from Little Rock where he went through a two-week handler course.
Building of a Rural K9 Unit
Jodi: Did Elbert County have a K9 Unit before you were elected?
S.N: No. They had K9s in the past, but when I got here there were no K9s. I think the handler who was here before me took another job and left the department. They didn’t replace him.
Something Mike probably didn’t tell you about our K9 Unit is it is all run by donations.
Jodi: He did mention that, and I want to talk to you about that at the end of this.
S.N: Oh, okay. Well, I was able to raise enough money to get the K9 program started.
Jodi: Which is fantastic! Did you already have the vehicle? Or not?
S.N: We had a vehicle, but we had to get the inserts and everything inside of it. I called in a few favors because I know a lot of people across the country in the K9 world who could help me out getting started and everything.
Jodi: And didn’t the Elizabeth Police Department have a K9, but she passed away? Is that right?
S.N: That’s the bloodhound man trackers. He’s not employed by the Elizabeth PD. He assists them; he volunteers for them.
Jodi: So just search and rescue, kind of a thing.
S.N: Pretty much. I think he does have a narcotic dog now too. A little Malinois. Frank Hurse is his name.
Jodi: I think I’ve heard that name. Of course, when you live in a small town, you hear most the names eventually.
S.N: Yes, he lives in Elizabeth. He’s a big blood hound guy; known for his bloodhounds.
Jodi: That’s cool. My first FBI K9 book is about a bloodhound. Great trackers… maybe not as energetic as Labs.
S.N: My wife has a bloodhound. It’s a year and a half. She’s a strong girl; my wife has a hard time hanging on to her.
Jodi: I bet. We have a Rottweiler and a Lab, and our Lab has such a great nose.
S.N: They really do. My brother and sister-in-law are retired Phoenix PD, but they live in Montana. They’re big into hunting dogs. They train their dogs all the way up to the highest level. They had puppies. They go to all the trials. It’s great fun.
Jodi: Yeah, it’s a great hobby. My husband was training our Lab to be a bird hunting dog, but when we moved down here and there’s no water so they kind of fell off of it.
S.N: No water for sure.
Jodi: So, when you got here, and there was no K9, that was something you really wanted to do?
S.N: It was a goal of mine to get a K9 here because I think it’s needed. Especially, in the narcotic world. It took me a while, because I had to get the rest of the agency up and running. When I took over, we were eleven people short, so I couldn’t afford to do it then.
Jodi: Have you struggled with… now all my opinions are coming out… but did you struggle with all the junk that’s going on with the defund the police?
S.N: Oh, yeah.
Jodi: Even here in Elbert County?
S.N: It’s hard to find anybody who wants to be a cop anymore.
Jodi: That’s too bad.
S.N: We’re still four people short right now. Nobody wants to be a cop. So…
Jodi: Which is too bad, because I’d hope that out here, you’d have a lot of support.
S.N: We do. We have tremendous support from the community out here. I think better than it’s ever been. We work well with the community. We try to do a lot of events with everybody. We bring the dog out, let the kids play with the dog. School presentations.
We have a foundation for our officers because we don’t make the best money out here.
So, the foundation is there if somebody gets hurt, injured in the line of duty, we help them with some of their expenses. Last December 3rd, we had a deputy die in the line of duty. His family got an automatic check for $15,000. That paid for the funeral.
Need for Fundraising
Once a year we have a fundraiser for the foundation. We call it Back the Badge.
Jodi: I like that.
S.N: Since I’ve been Sheriff, we started that, and we’ve sold out every year.
Jodi: Awesome.
S.N: To the point that we had to move locations this year because we were turning people away because we didn’t have enough room.
Jodi: Great problem to have.
S.N: I felt really, really bad because some of the people were long-time supporters who waited too long to get their tickets. Usually, a couple of weeks before the event we’re wondering if people are going to show up. But last year, we were sold out in two weeks.
Jodi: That’s fantastic. Maybe it is in response to all the nonsense that’s going on in the world right now. When I was up at that writer’s academy, I was in a simulator class. The guy who ran the course sat down and said, “Everything is on the table, what do you guys want to talk about. You can ask me anything.” He shared that he felt like it was a tough time to be a cop and that the media isn’t exactly honest. And his tone was defeated. So, I said, “You know, most of us out here do know that the media is not giving us the truth.” And he said, “Really?” And that hurt my heart. It made me feel bad. Like, gosh, yeah. Most of the people I know support police. Most people want the police.
S.N: And definitely out here. We have so much support. And these guys know it, as well. The feel the respect from the community.
Jodi: That is so good.
S.N: But I talk to my friends down in Phoenix, and they say, thank God you’re gone.
Jodi: Is it really bad down there?
S.N: They are over 400 short. People are leaving left and right. Since January, 137 people left. Their last academy class had only 15 people.
Jodi: It’s tough down there.
S.N: It’s tough to get good people out here, but once they get here, they really do like it.
Jodi: And then you train them up.
S.N: Yeah, we train them up for other departments to take them away, because we can’t pay them enough. But the commissioners finally realized we needed a raise, and that helps. Of course, the young guys want to try the big city life. And I understand. I was probably the same way back then, too. But now days, they aren’t going to like it. It will be fun for a little bit, but eventually they’ll regret it.
Jodi: Tell them, after you stick your toe in that water, you can come back. How many K9 Deputies do you have training?
S.N: He’s another FTO. All our people have to wear a lot of hats. Mike is an FTO, a driving instructor, he has to keep up with the dog training and that’s a lot on his plate. It’s not just a 40 hour a week job. All my deputies wear multiple hats. They’re very flexible.
Meet RICO
Jodi: That will give them a lot of experience as well.
Let’s talk a little bit about Rico. Where did you guys get Rico?
S.N: I got Rico out of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Jodi: Is that where you always got your dogs?
S.N: No. In Phoenix, we got our dogs from Von Liche. I met the owner of the Little Rock kennel through a S.W.A.T. K9 handler I knew. He developed a course called Tac Dogs, tactical movement and training with your dogs. Teaching you how to shoot with your dog.
Jodi: (Laughs) I’m trying to picture shooting with my dogs at home. I have a hard enough time keeping my hands steady without my dogs nearby!
S.N: It’s all about discipline. Anyway, the guy in Little Rock was retiring and wanted to open up a breeding and training kennel. I told him to keep me in mind… and he did. When I told him I was trying to start up a K9 unit, he got me a dog. He got this dog imported from Hungary. So, after I made sure he was social-able, I went down to check him out, and he was everything he said he was.
Jodi: Was he trained before you got him, or did you do all of his training?
S.N: They had some basic obedience on him over seas. When Joe got him, he helped out with obedience, tracking, and narcotics on him by the time you come to pick him up.
Jodi: And then, like with all animals, training is a daily thing. I know it’s different in this county, but is he trained to smell marijuana?
S.N: No marijuana. Nowhere in Colorado can you have a marijuana dog. He’s a coke, heroin, meth, and we’re bringing him up on fentanyl soon. I just need to get some training aids for fentanyl.
Jodi: And that’s expensive too.
S.N: Yes.
Jodi: I just learned about this. You have packets from the laboratory, right? A scent packet?
S.N: Yes, I’ll show you. (Shows Jodi a scent packet and has her smell a meth scented pouch) When I was at the Phoenix PD, we had our own crime lab, and we were able to get refreshed kits every year. You can touch it and smell it.
Jodi: Sure, and then your dog will start barking at me when I try to leave. (laughs – smells awful)
S.N: No. I know the owner of this lab company. He gave me a test sample to try at home. They work great. So, I told him I was trying to start up this K9 Unit and asked if he would donate some scent kits to help get things up and running. And he sent me three odors.
Jodi: What is Rico’s primary mission? Is it mostly narcotics?
S.N: That’s what he gets his most use in out here, but he does have the capability to go on patrol work as well. Search and go, tracking, neighborhood searches.
Jodi: It’s great he’s so friendly too and can do that community piece too. I know they’re not all that way.
Future Goals
S.N: When we do the Back the Badge event, at the end of the night we bring Rico in and introduce him to everyone. Everybody loves him. We explain that he’s our dog and that our program is run by donations. We have a fire hydrant with a lid and ask if anyone has a couple of bucks, they can donate there. Come meet Rico and get your picture taken. The first time we did that we got $1300 in twenty minutes.
It’s my goal to get another K9 Unit here, and somebody gave me the money for another dog, I just need to find the person who wants to do it. I’ll have to get the car outfitted. Just to get the program up and running is between $18,000 and $20,000.
Jodi: I’m surprised just the dog doesn’t cost that much.
S.N: Well, my friend kind of helps me out with the dog. Still, the dog costs $10,000.
Jodi: What kind of language are your commands in?
S.N: Rico’s are in Dutch.
Jodi: That’s cool. I interviewed an FBI HRT K9 handler in the beginning of my K9 writing and his dog used Czech commands. So, since then, that’s what I use in my books.
S.N: I can’t say the Czech commands correctly and the dogs don’t understand me, so now I use English. (laughs)
Jodi: Do you know Juan Villanueva, here in Elizabeth?
S.N: Yes, he’s with Greenwood Village K9.
Jodi: Yeah. I had the chance to interview him about a year ago. Great guy.
S.N: He’s a great guy. He and Mike train together sometimes. I send Mike over to Greenwood Village about twice a month, if I have the manpower.
I’m sending Mike to a legal update class in August. I’d love him to go to Arizona in July for that scenario training. I just have to see if I can make it work.
Jodi: Do Mike and Rico get called out for specific K9 missions. I mean, does he have to be on call all the time for K9 related calls?
S.N: Absolutely. He knows, and the sergeants know, because they’re the ones who call him out. He’s always on call, but not technically on call.
Jodi: What does Rico’s training schedule look like?
S.N: I require him to do at least two hours a week of narcotic work and an hour of patrol work and tracking.
Jodi: Does he do that here?
S.N: All over. Anywhere you can find. Keep it different. I don’t want the dog to realize that a certain park is where he finds drugs. I just changed my hours so I can be here with Mike in the evenings so I can work with him sometimes too. I just want him to get more experience.
Jodi: It’s awesome that you have the experience and that you have a desire to build the team. It would be much harder if Mike didn’t have the support from above.
S.N: Yeah, and you can’t always go to other agencies to get help, because you have to get your jobs here done, too. I’m fortunate to be able to help Mike a lot. He can call me with questions anytime, and I can give him pointers. Like I’ll hide drugs on a car, and I’ll need to remind him to check the wind because the dog is reacting over here, but the drugs are over there. It’s just little things, you know?
Jodi: How does Rico alert?
S.N: He’s a sit and stare.
Jodi: What is his reward? A treat? A toy?
S.N: He has a toy. He has two toys. One for narcotics and one for patrol. The rubber hose signals him to go find the drugs. If you get out the tug toy, he knows he’s going to look for bad guys.
Jodi: I know sometimes dogs know what type of work they’ll be doing by which harness they’re wearing.
S.N: Yeah, they’re creatures of habit.
Jodi: What is a day in the life of Rico and Mike. They’re just living at home until he comes to work here, and he brings the dog to work?
S.N: The dog is like Mike. When Mike’s off, the dog is off. No training. Just being a dog. When he comes to work, he’s at work. They train between calls for service and his regular job. He has to squeeze everything in a 40-hour week.
Jodi: He has to really want it.
S.N: He has to want it. It is dedication.
Jodi: It is interesting to me the differences in all the different K9 Units. For example, Castle Rock is completely different. They take their dogs home too, but they don’t fully integrate them into their family. They are working dogs until they retire. They stay in kennels in the garage when they’re home.
S.N: I don’t believe in that.
Jodi: I know. I have horses too, and sometimes, they just need to go be a horse. And sometimes, dogs just need to be dogs. I would think they might get a little dull otherwise.
S.N: All my dogs were able to flip the switch, and Rico’s the same way. If you’re home, you’re relaxed and with the family. When my son was five months old, my wife was a little nervous about putting the baby with the dog. One day she went to the store, and I put the baby on the floor and found out it wasn’t going to be a problem. (Shows a picture of his son at 3 years handling his police K9. His son is now a fire fighter in Elizabeth)
Jodi: Well, those babies become the dog’s baby, and then they’re the safest baby in the world, right?
When we were at Castle Rock, we got to see the dogs, but only behind glass doors. Because they are bite dogs. They don’t take them out into the community for outreach purposes. But they do have victim advocate dogs. Which is really cool too.
S.N: My son wants to train up an arson dog for the Elizabeth Fire Department.
Jodi: I love to hear that!
So, what do you feed Rico? Does he have a special diet?
S.N: Dry dog food. Blue Diamond.
Jodi: You mentioned K9 first aid. Not every county has a specified vet, and even if they do, not all first responders know how to care for K9s.
S.N: We have a vet we strictly use in Elizabeth. But they’re not open 24hours, so we also have connections in Parker and Colorado Springs, depending on what part of the county we’re in. I was spoiled in Phoenix. We had a designated vet who was big on working with K9s. He came to all the events and worked with dogs there. He made up 1st Aid kits and taught us how to use everything like using Narcan and how to tube a dog. Mike doesn’t have that training, but I’m hoping to introduce him to the doc in Phoenix when we go to Arizona. We have a K9 1st aid kit, but the one I had in Phoenix was huge.
Are other deputies know to get the dog into the truck. Rico might not let you get near Mike if he’s hurt, so get the sleeve, let him bite it and let him have it in the truck, so they can get to Mike and help him.
Jodi: They have a hugely dangerous mission, so you don’t know what might happen.
S.N: First one in, last one out.
Jodi: So, your goal for your K9 team is you want one more… and all the fixings. And then to send your deputies out for extra training.
Needs of the Elbert County K9 Unit
S.N: Yes, I do what I can, but I’d like them to have more than that.
Jodi: When is the next Back the Badge?
S.N: October 1st. Last year we turned 65 people away. So, this year we’re having it at Messer Arena. Mr. Messer puts a wood floor down and we can have our event. We’re shooting for 400 – 500 this year. There is also a golf tournament fundraiser on July 8th. It sells out in a week. One of the prizes is a trip to Pebble Beach. The money from that I split. Half goes to Rico and the other half goes to a scholarship program. We also sponsor 4H, rodeos, and proms.
Jodi: Speaking of fundraising, I know you don’t like the door pop. Why not?
S.N: Personally speaking, I had an experience of accidentally hitting the button and accidentally opening the door. I looked out and saw a black German Shepherd in the street that looked like my dog. Sure enough, my truck door was open, and my dog was out.
Years ago in Chandler, Arizona, guys were having dinner and a lady pushing a baby stroller walked past their truck. Somehow their door popped open and chewed her and the baby up. They either hit the button, or I don’t know what. I just think it’s too easy to accidentally hit that button. After that, Phoenix disabled all their door pops. It’s a huge liability.
Jodi: So, you think there is too much risk.
S.N: Yes.
Jodi: What about the thermostat thing?
S.N: We have that.
Jodi: So, all you don’t have in that whole package is the door pop?
S.N: Right. I got the heat alarm that will go to Mike’s phone, it will set off lights and sirens, and if worse comes to worse it will call me as well. Everything but the door pop.
Jodi: I can see your hesitation.
So – I would like the opportunity to support your K9 Unit. And as far as doing fundraising, I think I could probably get some of my readers on board to join in that with me. Maybe I could match what they contribute, or something like that.
I don’t know what you need, but you said everything is primarily from donations.
S.N: We’re pretty good on training equipment. But who knows what might come up? I’d love for you to come to Back the Badge.
Jodi: Absolutely. I wrote the date down.
S.N: To explain how the evening goes, we have Happy Hour; cocktails and music. There’s a silent auction.
Jodi: I love a good silent auction!
S.N: We’re going to make it even bigger this year. I think last year we had 80 items, but with more people we need more. We have a dinner. The foundation president and I will give speeches. A lot of the money goes to our officer foundation. After dinner the bidding wars start. We have a live auction too. At the end of the night, we bring out Rico and pass the fire hydrant around.
Jodi: Well, I’ll donate two full series of signed books. I’ll do that for sure.
S.N: We have the fire department there too. We do a lot together. We’ve done a dunk tank, chili dinner.
Jodi: You guys did something at the Stampede Rodeo a last year.
S.N: Yeah, one of our officers got shot and that night was the first time he’d been out since he was shot. So, the fire chief and I were talking and realized the town parade was the next day, so we auctioned off rides in the parade with us on the M-Wrap and the Snow Cat. All the money went to him.
Jodi: What I’d like to do, is give people a specific need that they could give toward.
S.N: What we really need that we don’t have is a bite suit.
Jodi: Okay! There you go! Do you have one specifically in mind?
S.N: Yes, Ray Allen. They’re out of Colorado Springs. They’re one of the biggest K9 equipment suppliers in the nation.
Jodi: Alright. Perfect. We’ll get you that suit.
S.N: (Laughs) Well, thanks!
Jodi: You bet! I’m excited about it. I’ll be in touch about it, but I’d love to present this to you at the Back the Badge event.
Your opportunity to help!
If you would like to donate to our fundraiser for a training bite suit for Rico, please click here:
https://gofund.me/4712fae9 THANK YOU!!
