# Four-Legged West Virginia Trooper Compiles Winning Streak



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*NATALIE NEYSA ALUND*
_The Dominion Post_










Apr. 25--In northern West Virginia, there is a new four-legged trooper on patrol.

The 75-pound Belgian Malinois (mal-inwah) with beady, brown eyes goes by the name of Roy.

And when it comes to taking a bite out of crime, the 1 1/2 year-old K-9 means business.

Within less than a month on the job, Roy has helped detect 13 drug busts, track two suspects who fled a burglary, and help take down one man who ran from State Police.

Imported from Holland earlier this year, Roy lives with handler Trooper Jason Saurino in Preston County.

The partners began training for the job March 1 at the West Virginia State Police K-9 Special Operations Unit in Institute. Their first day on the job was April 1 -- working out of the Morgantown's State Police detachment on Monongahela Boulevard.

"This is something I've always wanted to do," Saurino said Monday. "I love dogs and I enjoy working with him -- Roy is really helpful and I like the work he does. In the past month, he's had 10 traffic stops in Monongalia and Braxton counties where he got people on misdemeanor drug charges."

Roy works a 40-hour week and is trained in narcotics detection, apprehension and tracking.

In addition to English, he understands 16 Dutch commands.

Saurino said that the K-9 is assigned as a working officer with a badge.

Roy is one of 16 K-9s that work with State Police. But he's the first dog to work for State Police in the northern part of the state, Saurino said.

Although Roy and Saurino work out of the office in Mon County, they also work in other northern counties: Marion, Preston, Harrison, Taylor, Tucker, Grant, Hardy and Whetzel.

Saurino said he and his partner are based in Morgantown because it's central to the areas they patrol.

Sgt. James Merrill, State Police public information officer, said State Police in the northern portion of the state are lucky to have Roy.

"He's better than a police officer in his senses," Merrill said Monday. "He can make our decisions quick -- tell us to go left or right to look for a suspect."

Cpl. Ron Arthur, K-9 Director of the West Virginia State Police K-9 Special Operations Unit, said Roy cost about $5,500.

Arthur, who trained both Roy and Saurino, said the State Police budget paid for Roy and will pay for his upkeep, such as food, veterinarian maintenance and training.

Arthur said it takes four to six weeks to train a police K-9 and handler.

"But Jason (the handler) was a real fast learner and finished in four," he said.

Regarding Roy, Arthur said, "He seems to have a lot of extra drive. His tracking has come along so fast and good that after he gets a year or two experience, I think he and the handler will be one of the better tracking teams I've ever trained."

Roy and Saurino will continue to train as long as they work together.

They'll continue to revisit the K-9 Headquarters each month for 16 hours of inservice training, Arthur said.

"There, their skills will be refreshed and they will be reevaluated to make sure they are on task," Arthur said.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected].

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