Don't forget Garrett

Several years ago my wife and I went to a benefit auction in Othello. During the dinner and just before the auction there was a short demonstration. K-9 Handler Joe Phillips and K-9 Garrett were there to entertain us with the prowess of a well-trained German Shepherd. Former Sheriff Doug Barger put on the sleeve and when Joe gave the verbal command Garrett went after that sleeve with his strong chompers and we all chuckled and applauded. This K-9 was the real deal.

During the auction I bid on an opportunity to ride along with Joe and Garrett. Since I had the high bid Joe came back to me and asked if I wanted to do a two hour ride along or go to a training session at the Spokane Police Academy. I decided on the latter because I wanted to see what kind of training these K-9’s and their handlers go through.

On the night we went to Spokane it was raining and when we got to the academy there were several officers visiting and a decision was made to go to a business near Trent Avenue that allowed the officers areas to do searches and other training. The two story sprawling building was great for finding the ‘bad guy’ in dark cubby hole hiding areas and encounters in hallways with the perpetrator.

Outside the officers walked their K-9 and then would have them sit and wait until they were called. Some dogs got antsy when the handler was any more than 25 feet away and would walk toward the officer at which time they started the whole procedure over again. Watching Joe and Garrett was really neat because Garrett watched and was attentive as Joe would walk back about 10 feet and then another 10 feet until he was about 25 yards away and then when he called Garrett came running for a pretty cool reunion. You could tell which dogs were in early training and those that had a lot of training. The more I saw Garrett the more I liked him and since this was an Adams County K-9 it was really impressive.

Between short training sessions we went inside where some officers were taking a lunch break and visiting and this was really interesting. Here you had deputies and police officers from Washington and Idaho talking about different situations that they encountered. You’ve heard people say that they wish they were a fly on a wall well that night I was a fly on the proverbial wall listening to these guys and it was pretty cool. They were telling stories and getting advice and relating what worked and what they might have done differently. The most important thing I noticed in these conversations is that each officer wore a different uniform but they were all on the same team.

The last training that took place was the car. There was a driver that was decked out in a padded suit which made him look like a sumo wrestler. When he was the driver he would have his arm out the window and on command the K-9 would go after that arm. Then the handler put the dog back in the car and the driver moved to the back seat. When Garrett had the opportunity to go through the driver’s side window and went into the back seat the car rocked back and forth until Joe called him off. All handlers need to take a shift in the car and Joe said that it wasn’t much fun and I can see why.

The last thing we did that night was a final biting of the sleeve. After watching these bite incidents Joe asked if I would like to put on the sleeve. I said sure even though I was a bit reluctant. When I put the sleeve on and Joe gave the verbal command I had a 90 pound K-9 on my arm and was thinking this dog is strong and I’m glad I have the sleeve on. 30 seconds after retreating Joe, Garrett and I had our picture taken and it is still in my phone. I helped Joe and Garrett do a couple more sleeve demonstrations over a three year period of time and I was impressed each time.

Garrett passed away on December1st serving Adams County and surrounding areas as needed admirably.

His reputation preceded him and many, not all suspects gave up before Garrett was called to service. His bark was loud but his bite was louder.

This is a sports column so here you go. K-9 Handler Joe Phillips was once the kicker for the Utah Utes and Garrett was one of the most amazing athletes I’ve ever seen.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. E-mail him at [email protected].