Though he was a bit apprehensive at first, Gunner, the Mt. Laurel Police Department K9, made some new friends earlier this week during his special trip to Larchmont Elementary School.
He entered the classroom on high alert, with his ears pinned back, and began to sniff around with a curious look on his face. Perhaps he was looking to grab a snack out of someone’s lunchbox before he got up in front of the room for his demonstration.
Having never been around that many kids at one time before, the environment was a bit overwhelming to the 18-month-old puppy at first, but the students of Christie Vincent’s class were very well behaved and welcomed Gunner with open arms.
“He’s a very friendly dog, but he gets nervous sometimes around big groups like this, especially with people who get down to eye level with him. He often takes that as an act of intimidation,” Cpl. Chris O’Prandy said.
O’Prandy, who has been with the MLPD for more than 14 years, has worked nonstop to receive his K9 handler certification after he purchased Gunner when he was just 6-weeks-old.
The officer began to thoroughly enjoy his training time with his puppy and donated the dog to the local police force when he was 15-months-old.
As the time went on and Gunner developed into a full-grown German shepherd, O’Prandy spoke to Chief Dennis Cribben who spoke to the administration about starting the K9 program back up.
Gunner was sworn in at a Mt. Laurel council meeting last September as the first K9 to patrol in Mt. Laurel since 2001.
The Mt. Laurel Police Department is financing the K9 program entirely through a special fund residents, businesses and others in the community can donate toward. Because of budget constraints, O’Prandy and Gunner were not able to attend a K9 police academy. Instead, they trained with Perry Parks, a retired police officer and certified police K9 instructor working for Absolute Control Dog Training in Southampton. Parks teaches K9 candidates the same skills they would learn at an academy.
Gunner completed a 16-week patrol course and a 10-week narcotics course, certifying him as a dual-purpose K9.
He now does all of the patrol work, searching for missing people, suspects, articles, building searches and having the ability to also search for narcotics.
“He’s able to detect anything that doesn’t belong out in the environment,” O’Prandy said.
He has also completed obedience training, so he is an expert at responding to certain terms.
O’Prandy still trains with him everyday to keep him sharp so he doesn’t forget the things the police force expects of him on or off the leash during a typical 12-hour shift.
As a former member of the swat team, he thoroughly enjoys his new position with his new partner.
“By far, I have the best job right now,” O’Prandy said.
Gunner seems to mutually enjoy his time with his owner, learning new tricks and expressions as he grows up.
“Right now he’s a big baby,” O’Prandy said.
Law enforcement and military typically use German shepherds as their primary working dog because they are known as the ultimate utility dog.
“What makes a K9 so effective is that they’re really a tool for locating, and when I say locating, I mean anything,” O’Prandy said.
He used the example of throwing someone’s keys into a field and having Gunner track them down because of how powerful his nose is. When a human walks into a field, they release scent from their body on to the ground. The dogs have a much stronger sense of smell that is able to track that unique scent hours or even days later.
Gunner has become an expert at detecting these specifics, but is still warming up to meeting new crowds.
However, as Lt. Stephen Riedener attested, they bring the dog out to the schools for events such as this because it is good for him and helps his social skills when he is exposed to different situations.
The officers use this time to focus on teaching the kids not to touch dogs they’ve never met because the animal might view the gesture as an act of intimidation and try to defend themselves. They wanted to apply a specific emphasis on teaching the students general dog safety and alerting them that not all dogs are as well controlled as Gunner.
Gunner has gotten a lot of high praise from trainers, according to Riedener, and has been a great addition to the force.
“Chris and Gunner are just great for this program,” Riedener said.
After the success Gunner has endured over the past year, the MLPD has decided to acquire another K9. It announced the addition of another dog to the department with the donation of a puppy named Drako. The department announced when Drako was old enough he, too, would start attending police K-9 training.
Residents wishing to donate to the Police K9 Fund can mail a check to Police K9 Fund, 100 Mt. Laurel Road, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054. Donations can also be made in-person at the Mt. Laurel Municipal Building. Donations will not only help the police department pay for Gunner’s expenses, but it could help expand the K9 program in the future.
