By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Carter County School District is about to have a new best friend. That friend will add four furry legs to the school police department, and will help keep all the students throughout Carter County Schools safe. The newest recruit’s name is Mabel, but the cute Labrador pup will be participating in training before she begins work, School Police Chief RD Porter said.
“She will be a non-biting police canine,” Porter said. “She will be certified in narcotics, THC, vapes, and firearms. And she will be present at all the schools once she completes training. Her handler (Officer Matt Salley) is assigned to East Carter High School. But she will be utilized at all Carter County Schools.”
Porter said that having an officer of Mabel’s talents had been one of his long-term goals.
“But we felt that there was a greater need to staff the schools with officers,” Porter said.
The KRS, he said, states that every school has to be staffed with an armed officer, pending funding, and he wanted to adhere to those guidelines. But he said he had discussed his goals with his officers, including wanting a police canine.
“Matt is an avid dog lover,” Porter said of Officer Salley. “He works with dogs all the time; waterfowl hunting and stuff like that.”
Salley, Porter said, had made contact with a woman who had an animal that was related to one of Salley’s own dogs. That line of dogs included many that were therapy dogs and police canines, Porter said.
“So, Matt obtained this dog (Mabel) then called me and said he wasn’t going to train it to hunt.”
Salley told Porter that he and his wife had talked about it and decided that if Porter would send the dog to school, he could use it as a police canine.
“We began looking for grants at that point,” Porter said. “Then I got a call from Sheana Barker at Smithfield. She asked me if I had any upcoming projects that I needed funding for, because they had some funding available for first responders, education, and veterans.”
Porter said that he sent Barker his ‘wish list,’ and she indicated that she would be interested in the school’s need for a canine.
The end result was that Porter reached out to Custom Canines in Gainesville, Georgia, to determine how much Mabel’s training would cost. The company, which is nationally recognized and specializes in school police dog training, gave Porter a price. Porter in turn told Barker that anything Smithfield could donate would be appreciated. Barker, with a little assistance from Smithfield’s corporate office, was able to donate enough to pay for the future canine officer’s training. Porter said that due to the generous donation, the school’s police department only needed to pay for Mabel’s harness, the canine cage for the vehicle, and other equipment.
Mabel will leave in February for her 8 to 10 weeks of training, and then Officer Salley will go for two weeks of handler training. It should all be completed sometime in April, Porter said, and Mabel should be on the job before the end of the school year.
“Some departments buy an animal that is already trained,” Porter said. “But that can cost up to around $50,000. Depending upon how the dog is trained and how many things it is trained to do, it could range anywhere from $15,000 up to that $50,000.”
Porter said he wanted to reiterate that Officer Mabel will only be trained to sniff out substances and alert her handler, and is a non-biting dog.
“And Matt has already had her in the schools quite a bit getting her used to the kids and the all the commotion,” Porter said. “Everything from bells to fire alarms. And she’s ready to go. Matt said whenever he gets ready for work, she’s up and ready to go too.”
“I think she is going to be good for the schools,” Porter said. “If she sniffs out one firearm or finds narcotics, it improves everyone’s safety.”
Porter said the Carter County Schools Police Department would also welcome any donations toward Officer Mabel’s veterinarian care and food.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
