Nov. 21--When Officer Gary Mattingly left the Daviess County Sheriff's Department to join the city police force in 2002, he left behind his position as a K-9 officer -- and he transferred ownership of his K-9 partner, Seigo, to another deputy.
"It wasn't the hardest thing I had to go through, but when that handler came to pick (Seigo) up, I questioned whether transferring (to Owensboro Police Department) was the right thing to do," Mattingly said.
For the next decade, Mattingly made it known to OPD officials that, if the department ever needed an additional K-9 officer, he would love the job.
Last Monday, Mattingly started work as the department's third K-9 officer, with his dog partner, Artus, a 16-month-old German shepherd. Despite his friendly disposition, Artus is trained to find narcotics, search for evidence at crime scenes and stop fleeing or resisting suspects with his powerful bite.
Mattingly said he couldn't be happier to be back with a K-9 partner again.
"I kept applying for the position of K-9 handler. It will be almost 10 years waiting for a new dog," Mattingly said Thursday. "When I put in for it and got the position, I teared up a little bit."
Before Mattingly became a K-9 officer, OPD had two K-9 handlers. Officer Michael Hathaway, public information officer for the department, said the decision was made to create a third K-9 officer position and acquire a third dog so the department could have at least one K-9 on patrol during each shift.
Artus was bred and received his initial training in Slovakia before coming to the United States. Artus and other German shepherds were sent to Evansville to work with profession K-9 trainer John Haller. It was Haller who selected Artus to be Mattingly's partner.
"(Haller) met with me beforehand to get my personality," Mattingly said. Haller also looked at Owensboro's crime rate to help determine what kind of K-9 the city needed.
"You want a dog that can be social and can be around anyone, but can do its job," Mattingly said.
Mattingly and Artus received six weeks of training together before Artus was used for patrol.
"Dogs are phenomenal; you can train them to find almost anything," Mattingly said.
While tracking suspects and searching for hidden drugs would be work for humans, it's a joy for the dogs, Mattingly said.
"It's not work for them -- they're having fun with it," Mattingly said. "They work off praise and their Kong (rubber toy). They will do anything for Kong."
Mattingly, who grew up with German shepherds as pets -- and has two additional shepherds at home -- said part of being a K-9 officer is developing a relationship with the dog to where the handler and dog can anticipate each other's actions.
"There's a saying, 'trust your dog,'" Mattingly said. "Sometimes you're tracking for narcotics ... the dog knows the odors -- you can't smell them. They dog knows where to go -- you don't."
Mattingly, who has worked as a narcotics detective and as a member of the department's emergency response team, said he hopes to remain a K-9 officer until he retires.
"This hopefully will end a great career," Mattingly said. "It's the icing on the cake of a great career. I love my job and this is even better."
James Mayse, 691-7303, [email protected]
Copyright 2011 - Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
