Sheriff will keep new Magalia deputy on a leash

Paradise Post 6/11/05 By Neil H. Dempsey - Staff Writer

 

Amid shouts in German and lots of panting, seven police dogs got a workout on Friday morning as the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the Oroville Police Department unveiled a newly revamped canine agility course they now share in Oroville.

 

Running around the variety of obstacles on the course was the newest addition to the sheriff’s K-9 division: Jango, a two-year-old Malinois recently delivered to his handler, Deputy Mark Muhlbaier. After upcoming training, Jango will be assigned to the Ridge beat.

 

“He’ll be on full-time, dedicated to Magalia,” said Muhlbaier. Jango’s already riding around with Deputy Muhlbaier on a regular basis, but that’s just to form a bond between the two.

 

On July 18, Jango will head out for a month-long training session in Santa Cruz; when he returns, he’ll live with Muhlbaier and assume his title as official Magalia police dog. Being a Malinois, a breed frequently referred to as a Belgian shepherd, is different from being a German shepherd. Belgian shepherds come from Holland, whereas German shepherds are often from the Czech Republic or Germany. Belgian shepherds also usually live, and thus work, for many more years than German shepherds.

 

 

Sgt. Steve Pelton said Jango cost $6,900. Subsequent training will cost $2,700. Purchase of Jango was made possible by the Honorary Deputy Sheriff’s Association (HDSA), an official auxiliary established in 1983 to provide public relations support and fund-raising efforts to benefit the sheriff’s office. Association president Larry Foster said he and others raise money - often upwards of $10,000 a year - to take care of as much of the sheriff’s annual “Christmas list” of needed items as they can. “That’s our job, we buy dogs for Butte County law enforcement, but predominantly the sheriff’s office,” Foster said. He explained that the county budget allocates money for training and feeding the dogs, but none for the initial purchase itself. The HDSA also funded materials need for the refurbishing of the agility course, which was completed by members of Chico Troop 2 of the Boy Scouts of America.

 

Boy Scouts Griffin Moran and Danny Matthews were on hand at the event. Matthews had organized the community service project as part of his bid for Eagle Scout ranking. The 17-year-old estimated the project, which he began in November of last year and completed before Christmas, took roughly 235 hours of labor. A handful of the agility course’s original obstacles and materials were saved, Matthews said. “Everything else we built and painted,” he said.

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For more information contact:

Honorary Deputy Sheriffs Inc. PO Box 8 Paradise CA 95967 Hank Bowes 873-5025