Portsmouth Herald 12/04/03

Portsmouth police officer-dog teams score major points

By Emily Aronson
earonson@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH - Both teams of the Portsmouth Police K-9 Unit posted high scores at national certification trials held on Monday at Pease Air National Guard Base.

Out of a possible top score of 200, Officer Tim Black and dog Turbo scored 197, and Officer Rebecca Mansfield and dog Viktor scored just one point less, with a total of 196.

"I'm very proud of the job we both did," Mansfield said Wednesday. "We train so much that it's good to go to a certification and see that our efforts paid off."

The United States Police Canine Association, representing more than 7,000 dogs nationally, travels the country to conduct biannual certification field trials.

Monday's field trial started at 9 a.m. and lasted nearly 6 hours during a very windy and chilly day.

"I'm more proud of their scores because of the bad weather," said K-9 unit head trainer Lt. David "Lou" Ferland. The windy conditions, he said, can make it difficult for the dogs to pick up scents during the outdoor drug searches, adding that Viktor and Turbo performed well despite the weather.

"It's not like a baseball game - training never gets canceled for weather," Ferland said, noting that dogs must be prepared to perform searches in all types of conditions.

The certification trials evaluated the teams in a series of drug- or bomb-search tests. In the first search, teams were asked to find two drug items hidden in a 1,200-square-foot area of a building. In the second test, the teams went outside to search for drugs inside five vehicles within a designated time frame.

"The dog's nose is great, but the dog's nose won't know if we don't get their nose into the right area," said Mansfield, who noted that Monday was Viktor's first search since undergoing major surgery.

Capt. Janet Champlain said the entire K-9 unit worked hard to train the teams for Monday's performances.

"Their success is not just a credit to Officers Black and Mansfield and their dogs, but to Lt. Ferland's hard work."