Canine Unit
The Owatonna Police Department's canine, Bullet was born on March 1, 2005 in the country of Slovakia. He is a pure bred German Shepherd. He was bred to be a police dog and was brought to the United States to work forThe Owatonna Police Department's canine, Bullet was born on March 1, 2005 in the country of Slovakia. He is a pure bred German Shepherd. He was bred to be a police dog and was brought to the United States to work for the Owatonna Police Department. Bullet has more desire and drive than a German Shepherd born in the U.S. The coloring of his fur is called "sable" which is different than the black and tan "saddle" coloring that is more common in america. Bullet started trainingwith his partner, Officer Brandon Fandel, on March 4, 2006 at the St. Paul Police Canine Training Facility. The training program was twelve weeks long and was very intense for both Officer Fandel and Bullet. Bullet learned obedience and Officer Fandel learned how to communicate with Bullet by voice commands and hand signals. They learned how to track people for a variety of reasons, search for people in large areas, and for people in buildings. Bullet is also trained how to apprehend or catch people who try to run when he finds them and to protect his partner. 
Officer Fandel and Bullet graduated from the training program on May 28, 2006 and began working the streets and neighborhoods of Owatonna shortly thereafter. Bullet rides in the backseat of a special police car called a "Canine Unit". In their first month of work, they located a person by following his track. On seven other occasions, our mere presence convinced the people to comply with officers orders and they were taken into custody without incident. One of those people was a burglar at the Owatonna High School. That was called a "non-physical apprehension" Bullet can be sent by Officer Fandel into dangerous situations to hopefully reduce the danger for human police officers and the citizens of Owatonna. When they are not working, Bullet gets to live at Officer Fandel's home. Officer Fandel takes care of Bullet, just like you would take care of your pets at home. Officer Fandel has to brush Bullet regularly, feed him, and give him plenty of fresh water. Officer Fandel and Bullet also spend a lot of time off-duty training. Being a Canine Officer is a 24/7 job. 
In October of 2006, Officer Fandel and Bullet returned to the St. Paul Police Canine Training Facility for further instruction. The training concentrated on the many facets of narcotics enforcement, with specific emphasis on the effective use of a police canine. Bullet learned how to use his nose to detect and alert his handler of the presence of illegal narcotics, including Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and Heroin. Officer Fandel learned how to interpret the alerts (signals) his canine partner gives him. They trained in buildings, homes, vehicles, and a variety of containers. Upon completion of this training program, Officer Fandel and Bullet were narcotics certified. Not only will Officer Fandel be able to use Bullet to find illegal drugs, he will be able to build criminal cases against suspects and testify in court, thus sending more bad guys to jail. On December 4th 2006, Officer Fandel and Bullet went to a narcotics certification trial and they passed the tests with flying colors. They are a fully trained team now, but they have to train constantly to stay sharp. Officer Fandel and Bullet are a special team for our Department and a great addition to aid us in the war against crime. We have had fantastic support from our Community and financial assistance from Cashwise Grocery Store and Wal-Mart. Without public and private support, our canine program would not have gotten off the ground. Aside from their work catching bad guys, Officer Fandel and Bullet are available for public presentations on a limited basis. If you are interested in a canine presentation, please contact us by clicking on the link below.
The Owatonna Police Department has a history of police canine use. Several officers over the years have had canine experience. Two were canine handlers during their military careers and upon becoming police officers, used their own German Shepherds for visits with children at our elementary schools. In more recent times, one of our officers utilized a certified narcotics canine for several years for drug enforcement purposes.
Corporal John Petterson & "Kilo"
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SGT. Gary Andersen & “Poco” |
SGT. Frank Schmidt with “Rex” & “Hondo” |
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US Army, Vietnam |
US Army, Philippines |
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Ret. Owatonna P.D. Sergeant |
Ret. Owatonna P.D. Captain |
Pound for pound, dogs are about twice as strong as people. This strength, along with a dog's predatory heritage, can make the proper dog a formidable opponent. Dogs are well equipped to do a great deal of damage in a short amount of time. The Romans proved this by pitting dogs against other animals, as well as against humans. Dogs have been successfully used in personal combat since the Stone Age. Over 2500 years ago, war dogs were used as forward attacking elements by several southern European armies. Even in this age of high-tech warfare, mankind's first early warning device is still being used by the most technologically advanced armies of the world.
America was a bit slow to officially adopt dogs for military or law enforcement. America seems to have had a difficult time accepting dogs as viable assets for protecting her military troops. This held true for many years, in spite of the fact that some of America's earliest military campaigns were accompanied by dogs. Although these dogs were primarily mascots, they also served as sentry dogs and as scouts. Years before the Revolutionary War, one of America's most notable citizens developed an organized method for deploying military dogs. His tactical use of the dog was apparently based on a Spanish model. This citizen was involved with organizing a militia and is known throughout the world, his name was Benjamin Franklin.
During World War II, America got serious about using dogs to protect its military and military related property. It is also during this time that the term "K-9" came into common use. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were several people in the dog world who prompted the Army to use sentry dogs. As support for their position they would say "a single dog could replace eight guards". This sentry dog program got started with the help of "Dogs for Defense", an organization made up of civilian breeders and dog trainers. The sentry dog program proved a successful start to America's entry into using military working dogs. The task of protecting America's harbors and coastlines was the responsibility of the Coast Guard and they used more than 3,000 sentry dogs to keep our shores safe from sabotage and foreign invasion. As the war changed, so did the role of the dog, and we saw the birth of the American scout dog program. The scout dogs proved to be very effective in the South Pacific.
After World War II there was continued interest in the training and use of sentry dogs and scout dog training. It was also learned that in Japan, 65 sentry dogs could secure warehouses with no losses, where 600 men guarding the same warehouses lost over $600,000 of inventory. During the Vietnam War, there was considerable activity in the training and use of dogs to protect people and equipment. Sentry dogs were widely used in Vietnam, with the first American dogs arriving in 1960. In 1968, the Air Force started to train patrol dogs as a replacement for the sentry dog. Patrol dogs were more manageable and versatile than sentry dogs. Patrol dogs are much more like police dogs or highly trained protection dogs. The organized use of dogs in law enforcement was established in the early 1900's. The use of police dogs was largely brought about by the development and organization of purebred dog clubs. This development took place in Europe. The most notable police dog programs were those of Germany, Belgium, and England. In the United States, police dogs were first utilized on the east coast and larger cities, such as New York, Washington D. C., Philadelphia, and Boston. Their utilization spread west as the population expanded. Today, most law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local level have canine programs.
