On a half-acre lot surrounded by a chain-link fence, Toby strained at the leash toward six wooden boxes, each about the size of a large industrial washing machine. In one of them, a man was hiding.
"Come on out," growled Officer Louis E. Gianotti, a 21-year police veteran. "I'm cutting the dog loose." The initial warning went unheeded. After a few sniffs here and a whimper there, a brownish-black blur of German shepherd ferociously lunged through a box door and dragged out a man dressed in blue.
Toby, a 6-year-old member of the Baltimore County police K-9 unit, had passed the test.
While the man was a police officer and the action took place in a K-9 training yard, the short drill demonstrated the trust and teamwork required between man and animal in real-life situations.
Officer Gianotti and most officers in the unit said they stake their lives on their dogs. They point to the K-9 unit's motto which
depicts the dog's point of view: "My eyes are your eyes. To watch and protect you and yours. My ears are your ears. To hear and detect evil minds in the dark. My nose is your nose. To scent the invader of your domain. So you may live. My life is also yours."
Dogs like that are hard to find.
Baltimore County's K-9 unit of 29 dogs and 25 officers operates out of a warehouse-type building in the 900 block of Walker Ave. in Catonsville. Lt. Michael P. Howe, unit commander for two years, said the unit has the largest K-9 training facility on the Eastern seaboard and handles training for K-9 units around the state.
"They are invaluable to us," said Sgt. Roy E. Nichols, who commands a North Point Investigative Services Unit. "Every time we go out on a warrant, we use them. The dogs are a real big help."
In the past year, county K-9 dogs also have been used in a variety of high-profile cases, such as Susan Hurley Harrison, a Ruxton businesswoman missing since Aug. 5; James and Michael Gebbia, two Essex brothers who disappeared and drowned Aug. 21 while swimming in Back River; and Dorian Anthony Russell, a 7-week-old baby whose body was found by a K-9 dog Oct. 9 in a Cockeysville trash bin.
"Last year, we helped detect and seize over $150,000 cash as a result of narcotics raids," Lieutenant Howe said.
To be eligible, German shepherd dogs must be purebred males, 18 months to 3 years old and must be able to complete a 14- to 16-month training program. German shepherds most often are used because they can adapt to the strenuous workout, climate and environment of the training process, said Officer Glenn J. Lietuvnikas, an 18-year veteran of the K-9 unit.
"A lot of people call us up to donate dogs," said Officer Lietuvnikas, who works with Officer Rick E. Johnston to train both dogs and handlers. "But most of the time, the dogs are too young or not mature enough to handle the stress. Out of every 15 dogs that people offer to donate to us, only one might make it."
In Baltimore County, all dogs in the unit were donated by private citizens. The county is one of the few K-9 units still dependent on donated dogs, another being the Baltimore City K-9 unit. With the retirement of two dogs and the addition of two officers, the county is looking for at least three canine recruits. City police are also looking for dog donors.
One partially trained German shepherd dog costs about $3,500, although the unit hopes to purchase a dog through funds seized from drug raids, Lieutenant Howe said.
After passing a veterinary examination, new dogs are placed with their handlers for about three weeks to adjust and bond with their new family at home and at work. Some can't adjust and are sent back to previous owners or to a new home. Dogs can be removed from the program if they fail any part of the training.
"The hardest thing I have to do is match the officer to the dog," said Officer Lietuvnikas, who went to three K-9 schools to learn the training process. "Dogs have personalities, and people have personalities."
Dogs then go through obedience training, confidence training using an obstacle course and finally aggression training -- the final test to prove that the dog has an interest in protecting himself and his handler. Some dogs are trained in search and rescue techniques, bomb and firearm detection or narcotics detection. The unit has seven specialty dogs and five cross-trained dogs capable of performing in two roles.
Initially a patrol dog, Sarge, 4, was cross-trained in September for narcotics detection. Sarge is still new at the game of "Fetch the Pot," said Officer Tom R. Hench, his handler.
In a drug raid last weekend at a Dundalk rowhouse, Sarge leaped on top of a couch and shoved his nose under the tan cushions. Finding nothing of interest, the 2-year veteran stood up on his hind legs, sniffed the top of a bureau, looked up at Officer Hench and sat down.
Sarge had a hit.
"He's still pretty new at this, but he managed to find cocaine residue on a mirror and razor blade in the top drawer," said Officer Hench, a two-year veteran of the K-9 unit. "If he's going to find the small stuff then he's going to definitely find the big stuff."
But on closer examination, Sarge had found the bigger stuff. Two pipes with cocaine residue and several packets of rock cocaine lay on the bureau. A woman was arrested.
While shepherds are best in most cases, Labrador retrievers -- the unit has two -- are better in bomb detection because they're less excitable, Lieutenant Howe said. Retrievers are more easily trained to sit at a bomb to alert the handler rather than pawing and possibly bringing the bomb to the handler, he said.
Officers said a common misconception is that K-9 dogs are taught to attack a suspect's throat. In fact, dogs are trained to attack people's arms.
In training, a "suspect" wears an 8-pound canvas, leather and burlap training sleeve equipped with a protective metal bar.
A German shepherd weighs 85 to 100 pounds with a bite of about 1,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, according to a local veterinarian. That would be akin to a large grand piano being dropped on your arm, said a doctor at the University of Maryland Medical System.
"No one wants to be bitten by one of our dogs," Officer Gianotti said. "Nine times out of 10, suspects will give up after the initial K-9 warning. The suspect dictates the amount of force we use."
He said the hardest part for the handler is learning to put complete faith and trust in a dog.
"It's hard to relinquish authority to the dog and believe that he knows better than you where to find what you're looking for," Officer Gianotti said. "They're incredible animals."
Take for example, Officer John E. Davis and Sharkey. Most dogs retire around age 7 but Sharkey, now 13, is an 11-year veteran and the only dog in the department to earn a Police Commendation Medal. In his career, he has found more than $1 million worth of illegal drugs.
Sharkey and Officer Davis, 42, will retire this month. Sharkey will live out his years with Officer Davis, the reward that 99 percent of retired K-9 dogs receive for faithful service.
"Joining the K-9 unit was something I always wanted to do," said Officer Davis, who has been with the unit 19 years.
He has worked with three dogs, including Sharkey.
"My last dog, Cassie, a Labrador, had to be put to sleep because she had cancer throughout her entire body," he said. "I had to put Joc, my first dog, to sleep also because his left hip disintegrated. It's a hard, hard thing to do. It's almost like putting a member of the family down."
The K-9 officers say that man and dog form a bond as real as a partnership between humans. And, the experience of losing a partner can be devastating, Officer Davis said. Maybe even more so when this partner eats, sleeps and lives with an officer 24 hours a day without complaint, spending more time with him in a day than his wife does.
"A lot of times, a K-9 dog can do the work of three or four officers," Officer Gianotti said. "When you're in trouble, you call the police. When the police are in trouble, they call K-9."