Area has vested interest in Gilford police K9

GILFORD — Dennis Marhefka has social media contacts of varying political stripes, but many agreed on one thing — a protective ballistic vest for the town’s police dog, a Dutch shepherd named Kai, was a good investment.

In a few days, he raised the required $3,500.

Marhefka, a finance manager at Irwin Automotive Group, offered the money to the town. The Board of Selectmen accepted, the check cleared Friday and Kai will soon get a vest that could protect him from gunfire.

Marhefka had seen a picture of a K9 wearing a donated vest and came to find out Kai needed one as well. He decided this would be a good way to unify people around a common goal during divisive times.

“I promised initially I would pay for it myself, no matter what, but the way things looked in the world and turmoil I'm seeing, I decided to put it on Facebook,” he said.

“I’ve done pretty well in life. I don’t have the same political views as some of my friends, but we share a love of law enforcement. Officers do things that are unimaginable and they worry about things that can hurt them.

“I wanted them to know a lot of people still love them and appreciate the work they do.”

He is also a dog lover.

He dotes on two Rottweilers. Last week, his 16-year-old Border Collie died.

Kai works with Gilford K9 police officer Curtis P. Mailloux.

Lt. Dustin H. Parent said Kai is trained for patrol and narcotics work. The dog can track lost people, help apprehend suspects, find drugs and other items. He also is good for community relations and helps educate the public about police work.

Parent was a police dog handler himself for 10 years, which was a full career for his canine partner, Agbar.

The dog goes home with the handler and the two develop a tight bond. It’s a sad day for man and dog when the animal becomes too old to go to work anymore.

When prospective police dogs are puppies, they are assessed for their prey drive, their courage, their hunting drive, their ability to go after a ball, their bite and their confidence. Only a select few meet the lofty requirements. 

Officer and dog learn together at an academy before returning home for further training and regular follow-up work.

On patrol and during investigations, the K9 team is a solid asset.

Kai is kept on a 30-foot lead.

“He can track people trying to evade arrest, find elderly people with dementia, locate narcotics on the road, even find a weapon that was used in a particular crime,” Parent said.

Dogs have a dazzling sense of smell. Their noses have up to 300 million olfactory receptors, compared to 6 million for humans.

They can be trained to detect something that has a scent that is out of the ordinary, such as a gun in an open field.

“Kai has found drugs multiple times,” Parent said. “He has done a great job of that. We also had a suspect who fled from a residence on officers’ arrival, and he tracked the suspect through residential and business areas before arrest.”

Kai is a serious animal, especially on duty.

“Off-duty, he’s friendly, it’s all based on whatever the handler says.”

The Laconia Police Department’s dog is a male Belgian Malinois named Abby, who works with Officer Kyle Jepsen.

Abby also has a ballistic vest. As with human officers, it is hoped the vest will never be needed, Police Chief Matt Canfield said.

“We wouldn't deploy a dog when someone is known to be armed, it would be a waste of an asset,” Canfield said. “But in a situation such as a building search, when you don’t know if there is a burglar there, the vest could be very valuable if the suspect does happen to be armed.”

Abby was used to help track a suspect in a high profile crime last year. After a three-day manhunt, police arrested Hassan Sapry on a murder warrant. He was tracked to Opechee Cove and after checking boats and the water, the suspect was eventually found in a home.

Canfield said it’s amazing how much a dog can do.

“It’s an incredible resource and an incredible tool that allows us not to endanger the life of an officer needlessly,” he said.

“They can air scent on a suspect during a search. They’ll smell a suspect before we know there is anything there.”