Police Officers and their K9 Partners – an Interview

Avenging Adam – A K9 Thriller

I write romantic thrillers and am starting a new series this year. Check out my books on my website or on Amazon.

Police K9 Teams

In doing research for my upcoming book, Avenging Adam- an FBI K9 story, I had the opportunity and the honor to interview Officer J. Villalva about his work as a K9 police officer. Officer Villalva and his partner, a Belgian Trevuren named “Miner” protect the streets in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Johnnie Villalva is a former MP in the United States Marine Corps and has brought his desire to protect and serve home after his military service. We are more than fortunate to have men like him keeping us safe.

Here is the jist of our interview:

Jodi:  Do all major Police Departments have K9 Units attached to them?

Officer Villalva:  Yes, if they have the budget for it. Smaller departments can call for K9 assistance from larger departments if they need it.

Jodi: Where do you get the dogs and what do you look for in a dog when you’re choosing?

Officer Villalva: There are several canine vendors in the United States where we can go for dogs. I got Miner in Utah, but he originally came from Czechia. We evaluate the dogs for pack drive, play drive, search and hunt drive, the drive to fight, and courage.

Jodi: How much say do you get in the selection of your K9 partner?

Officer Villalva: After the dog passes the overall criteria, I have the final say.

Jodi: What type of dog is Miner?

Officer Villalva: My dog, Miner, is a Belgian Tervuren. They are smaller, more compact, and have fewer hip issues than German Shepherds. Miner originally cost the department $10,000. The money was donated by a local mining business – hence his name.

Jodi: Where does Miner live and what does his care involve?

Officer Villalva: Miner lives at home with me. He has a specially designed kennel that is both heated and air-conditioned. He eats frozen, raw meat – no fillers. The diet helps prevent him getting a flipped stomach. Miner sees the veterinarian on a regular basis for his check-ups and goes to work with me every day.

Jodi: Was Miner already trained when you got him?

Officer Villalva: No, I got him when he was only 6 months old.

Jodi: Where do you train? Is there a special facility?

Officer Villalva: Training happens constantly, but we have two, ten-hour training days per month. There is no training facility. We train anywhere and everywhere. We have to mix it up. We can’t keep going to the same place because the dogs are too smart. We go to fields, alleys, old and new buildings, etc. During slow hours on the job we train and practice searching and hunting in the dark. We take five minutes of training whenever we can get it.

Jodi: What training reward do you use?

Officer Villalva: Miner is motivated by play and his toy.

Jodi: Do you work exclusively in the K9 Unit, or do you have other duties in the department? 

Officer Villalva: I work a regular duty only I do it with my K9. There are some duties specific to K9 too. Miner is great at sniffing out drugs. Dogs can sort odors, so we train them with a cocktail of drug scents and then he can find any one of them individually.

Jodi: Do you use German or English commands? Or another language?

Officer Villalva: Often it’s Dutch, but the commands are mixed up and I might use unusual words for a command too so I’m the only one commanding my dog.

Jodi: What do you do on your job if your dog is sick or injured?

Officer Villalva: He’s my partner, so if he’s sick, I go to work without my dog.

Jodi: How old is a dog when he retires?

Officer Villalva: Health, not age, determines retirement. The dogs go through an audit to check their obedience, gunfire response, bite and release, and recall — will he call off when biting or sent to search building, car, or area.

Jodi: What happens to the dogs if they are hurt and can no longer work? Do officers get to keep them?

Officer Villalva: Yes, we keep them. But they are technically government property, so we have to buy them for one dollar.

Thank you to Officer Villalva, Miner, and all K9 teams that work hard to catch the criminals and keep us safe!