The News Room [News Release]
Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615
Release Date: Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Sheriff's K9 goes from shelter to Super Bowl
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Marta, now state's top bomb dog, will help protect Ford Field in '06 |
Two years ago, Marta was an energetic young German Shepard mix at the Dearborn Animal Shelter with an uncertain future. Today, she's training for the 2006 Super Bowl – as an explosives detection canine for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Marta is now a member of the Sheriff's K-9 unit and the No. 1 explosives detection canine in Michigan. She and other members of the department's four officer (five dog) K-9 unit competed recently in a statewide event in Grand Rapids hosted by the United States Police Canine Association, where Marta took top honors. More than 50 dogs and their handlers participated in the competition, which involved explosive detection, drug detection and human tracking.
Because of her skills, Marta and her trainer and handler, Cpl. Ray Kerimian, are among an elite group of officers from various agencies that will be helping to make sure Ford Field is safe as Detroit hosts the world's most watched sporting event next year. Marta and her peers have been conducting training exercises regularly at the stadium to prepare for the big event. Marta also will work the upcoming Major League Baseball Game at Comerica Park and has worked the North American International Auto Show and President George W. Bush's security detail during a recent visit to Wayne County.
"We are very proud of our K-9 unit for the work the officers and their dogs do every day to make Wayne County safer," said Sheriff Warren Evans. "Working the Super Bowl and All Star Game events is a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their skills on a large public stage."
Marta has come a long way since her humble beginnings at the Dearborn Animal Shelter. The shelter donated Marta to the Sheriff's Office in March of 2003 after the department's dog handlers told shelter employees they were in the market for a new bomb dog.
"When I saw Marta, she immediately looked like a good candidate to be a detection dog," Kerimian said. "She was extremely playful, which is one thing we look for. When we bounced a tennis ball in front of her, she started doing back flips. But she also has excellent concentration, which is the most important thing."
The certification test and competition in Grand Rapids covered Narcotics Detection, Explosives Detection and Human Tracking. Each K9 Team was judged by five panelists that score each handler and dog as they search for either hidden narcotics or explosives in rooms and in vehicles. Each team was to point out the locations of hidden substances within a short time period.
The teams were judged on human tracking, along with locating articles of evidence to the completion of the track. The tracking team, for example, had to track a human from a starting flag and determine in which direction the track led. The track is aged to a minimum of 30 minutes to simulate a real-life scenario. The team also had to locate three articles of evidence left on the track and negotiate a cross track laid by a second person across the original track.
Several other members of Wayne County's K-9 unit also took home trophies:
Other awards
- Ofc. Brian Earle and his dog, Leena, tied for first place in the narcotics detection category.
- Ofc. Earle and Leena also received a 3rd Place trophy for top cross trained dog (Narcotics & Tracking).
- Cpl. Kerimian also entered with K9 Cashous, a Narcotics Detection Dog. Cpl. Kerimian and K9 Cashous received their certification for Narcotics Detection.
- Ofc. David Rahn and K9 Jenny received a Trophy for 5th Place for Narcotics Detection. This was Jenny's first competition. Jenny recently completed her training after Ofc. Rahn's previous partner, Tar, a former national champion, was laid to rest last year.
- Cpl. David Andreski and K9 Zito are a new Explosives Detection Team with the Sheriff's Department, assigned to the City County Building, Circuit Court. K9 Zito was donated to the department in 2004 and was trained for Explosives Detection by Cpl. Raymond Kerimian. Cpl. Andreski and K9 Zito completed and received their first certification in Explosives Detection.
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