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Highlands Today

AP K-9 Team 2nd In Drug Detection

KATHY WATERS/Highlands Today

Officer Mike Abell and his K-9 partner, Rex, with the Avon Park Police Department recently took second place in the K-9 Drug Detection Team qualification during the Southern Hills Kennel K-9 detection seminar.

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By Joe  Seelig | Highlands Today

Published: November 21, 2007

Don't hide drugs from this 82-pound bilingual Belgian Malinois from Holland. Or don't be on the lam when he's around. He's likely to "pinch" you.

For the fourth time in four years, Rex and his Avon Park handler and police officer Mike Abell distinguished themselves as the top three overall finalists in a National Drug Detection Seminar. The competition was put on by the Southern Hills Kennels Inc., in Daytona.

The K-9 team placed second out of 53 K-9 drug detection teams, competing over four days around Nov. 11, said Avon Park Police Cmdr. Mike Rowan

"What makes this truly remarkable is our dogs are multi-purpose K-9s, while most of the dogs are strictly narcotics detection," Rowan said.

Actually, six other K-9 teams taking part in the seminar were strictly bomb detection dogs and were graded for the ability to detect bombs and bomb-making materials, Abell said Tuesday.

First place went this year to the Inspector General's Office K-9 team.

The handlers and their dogs were taken through their paces at the New Smyrna Coast Guard Station, the Daytona International Airport, an Army National Guard Armory and the Ocean Center Stadium in Daytona.

"It was neat putting the dog into different environments he's not used to," Abell said. "It was fun and it was good training."

Big For His Breed

At age 9 or 10 years, Rex has a big bite –– a biting power of 600 to 800 pounds per square inch. He came from Holland and understands his commands in Dutch.

He has worked with the Avon Park Police Department for five years, first with handler Ralph Miranda, then Steve Worley and now with Abell.

Worley left the department in January 2005 and returned this year in July. He didn't mince words about Rex.

"(Rex) is a very special dog," Worley said, as he watched Abell put Rex through his play time in the back of police headquarters. "He's one of the best dogs we've ever had."

Abell said working with Rex is like working with two different dogs.

When they're working, he's all business.

When he is playing or with the family, he shifts gears, becoming completely different, Abell said.

"When he's off duty he's playful," Abell said. "My son's 8 years old. He's old enough to interact with the dog."

They're expecting to retire Rex in a year or two depending on how Rex's joints hold up.

"My wife's excited because after that Rex will be a pet," he said.

In 2004 Avon Park Police officer Marc Wilbur and his K-9 partner Ivan took second place in the competition. In 2005, Worley and Rex took third place in the nationals. In 2006, Wilbur and Ivan took the Top Dog spot, which actually is above first place.

Avon Park police officer Jose Molina and his K-9 Ringo also took part in the recent seminar and they passed their certification.

"People don't often understand how much time and effort goes into training a dog like this," Rowan said.

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