BEND, Ore. — Legal marijuana may force a dog named Zoey into early retirement come July.
Zoey, a Belgian Malinois who is trained to detect marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin, has recovered more than 40 pounds of drugs in her two years as a drug detection K-9 for the Bend Police Department, according to Bend Police Lt. Nick Parker.
But Zoey may be out of a job soon. When possessing limited amounts of marijuana becomes legal in Oregon on July 1, dogs trained to alert on its scent may become a liability rather than an asset.
That’s largely because the reaction of a drug dog trained to detect marijuana won’t constitute a basis for searching the property or person in question. The dog’s reaction no longer can indicate an illegal substance may be present, Parker said.
For example, if during a traffic stop Zoey picked up on another drug that will continue to be illegal — such as methamphetamine — that reaction isn’t sufficient probable cause to conduct a search because she also alerts to a legal substance. “That negates our ability to use that evidence to further conduct searches,” Parker said. It also negates court testimony: A K-9 handler must be able to say under oath that the dog detected an illegal substance, Parker said.
For its part, Redmond Police doesn’t yet have a contingency plan for Ike, its drug dog, according to Redmond Police Chief Dave Tarbet.
“Statewide, a lot of agencies are looking to replace their dogs or retire them,” said Tarbet. “We haven’t got that far as what we’re going to do with Ike.”
Meanwhile, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has been set to retire its drug dog this year, according to Deschutes County Sheriff’s Capt. Erik Utter.
“The timing of this actually worked in our favor,” said Utter. “The current drug dog that we have in service is actually scheduled to retire this year, and so we had already anticipated replacing him.”
Narc, who was adopted from the Humane Society by a young deputy more than a decade ago, is completing his 12th year of service with the Sheriff’s Office. “His stamina isn’t what it used to be,” Utter said. “He’s still got a great nose on him. . He does a great job, but if you do an extended search that is a little tough on him.” Typically, drug dogs serve for about 10 years, Utter said.
Parker, who said Bend Police is “early on” in the process of determining the best course of action, said the department may try to sell Zoey to a department in a state where marijuana will still be illegal. But it remains to be determined how the right dog for the job will be paid for.
Zoey was purchased in October 2012 for $6,500 with help from private donations, according to Parker. About $3,000 of that fundraising money is still available to purchase a new dog, Parker said. The total cost of replacing the pup could range from $6,500 to $10,000.
“That’s just the cost of the dog,” said Parker. He noted each police dog requires about $2,500 annually to pay for food, health insurance, vaccinations and other supplies.
It’s just one way legal marijuana will cause law enforcement to make some adjustments. A greater number of officers and deputies on patrol must be trained in drug recognition to recognize the signs of intoxication under the influence of marijuana, Bend Police Chief Jim Porter said in an interview in October.
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