Had fun today but I'm pooped
I went and did the 'Hero's Project' today and helped fix up the new Independence K-9 facilities.
I guess there were quite a few volunteers there yesterday but not as many today. Still, with the help of half a dozen off-duty and on-call officers we made quite a bit of progress in 2 days. Today, myself and 2 others from my store painted the garage. This is not only the K-9 facility garage but where they process and store (in a pen in back) vehicles used during a crime. The garage is where the cars will be processed and it was pretty nasty. Lots of suspicious brown and yellow stains on the formerly white walls. Did I mention that the building used to be the city pound? The K-9 Unit lost their old facility a couple of months ago and they've been making due with a really, really stinky building. They've bleached the hell out of the place over the last couple of months so they smell isn't that bad anymore but it does linger.
Not only the kennels were stinky but more than once I guess the cats got out of their room and made their way above the drop ceiling of the outer office where they managed to leave their little presents and puddles. So all of those had to be replaced, all the walls painted, a new floor laid in the public places with those interlocking rubber tiles used in garages (looks really good). They also filled the depression in the center of one of the kennel rooms with a wooden platform then filled the room with collected furniture and a couple of fake heat vents as a testing place for drug finding.
Pretty early in the morning one of the officers brought in his dog Alpha. I was in the back and came up after I heard the commotion. A couple of the girls warned me that he jumps but before I could finish telling him that was OK I had German Shepard paws on my chest and a dog tongue in my mouth. *blargh!* Still, he was extremely friendly and the officer told us how the dogs could have really distinct working and non-working attitudes. Later Alpha and his handler were called out for a job and when they came back Alpha was let in the vehicle (running with a/c) because he was too riled up to socialize. Later there were 2 more dogs put in the kennels on site while their handlers worked on the remodel. Just before we left we got demonstrations: an 'attack' on one of the officers wearing a Kevlar sleeve, then a drug sniff-out in the mocked up room and then had a photo-op with the dogs and handlers in front of the big sign out front. The HR manager from another store used peoples phones to take photos. Hopefully I'll get a copy from one of the girls at my store.
Most of the dogs were bred and born in Hungary and they train them with German commands. They teach them to sniff out drugs by taking a piece of tough plastic pipe (which is one of their favorite chew toys), drill a couple of holes in it, stuff in a burlap bag with pot and cap the ends. This becomes a favorite toy. Then they hide it and the dogs seek. No wonder the dogs are happy to sniff out drugs; to them they're just looking for their toy! As soon as the dog - Isac - discovered the drugs under the fake heat vent he was given his 'chew' pipe. Isac is a little OCD and constantly walks in left hand circles in his kennel. Confined in a smaller space he practically pirouettes! His handler said he's gotten a lot calmer. When he first got him, when he found dope he'd just spin in place, he was so excited. Now he paws and then lies down.
Plus I got a nice, red Lowes t-shirt with the 'Be A Hero' logo on it! Best part, I got paid, which I really, really need, because today was payday and it wasn't enough to cover my rent. Tomorrow I'll have to get an advance on my credit card, which I really can't afford, just to pay rent. I definitely have to do something, sooner rather than later.
Anyway, bed soon and then up early tomorrow.
I guess there were quite a few volunteers there yesterday but not as many today. Still, with the help of half a dozen off-duty and on-call officers we made quite a bit of progress in 2 days. Today, myself and 2 others from my store painted the garage. This is not only the K-9 facility garage but where they process and store (in a pen in back) vehicles used during a crime. The garage is where the cars will be processed and it was pretty nasty. Lots of suspicious brown and yellow stains on the formerly white walls. Did I mention that the building used to be the city pound? The K-9 Unit lost their old facility a couple of months ago and they've been making due with a really, really stinky building. They've bleached the hell out of the place over the last couple of months so they smell isn't that bad anymore but it does linger.
Not only the kennels were stinky but more than once I guess the cats got out of their room and made their way above the drop ceiling of the outer office where they managed to leave their little presents and puddles. So all of those had to be replaced, all the walls painted, a new floor laid in the public places with those interlocking rubber tiles used in garages (looks really good). They also filled the depression in the center of one of the kennel rooms with a wooden platform then filled the room with collected furniture and a couple of fake heat vents as a testing place for drug finding.
Pretty early in the morning one of the officers brought in his dog Alpha. I was in the back and came up after I heard the commotion. A couple of the girls warned me that he jumps but before I could finish telling him that was OK I had German Shepard paws on my chest and a dog tongue in my mouth. *blargh!* Still, he was extremely friendly and the officer told us how the dogs could have really distinct working and non-working attitudes. Later Alpha and his handler were called out for a job and when they came back Alpha was let in the vehicle (running with a/c) because he was too riled up to socialize. Later there were 2 more dogs put in the kennels on site while their handlers worked on the remodel. Just before we left we got demonstrations: an 'attack' on one of the officers wearing a Kevlar sleeve, then a drug sniff-out in the mocked up room and then had a photo-op with the dogs and handlers in front of the big sign out front. The HR manager from another store used peoples phones to take photos. Hopefully I'll get a copy from one of the girls at my store.
Most of the dogs were bred and born in Hungary and they train them with German commands. They teach them to sniff out drugs by taking a piece of tough plastic pipe (which is one of their favorite chew toys), drill a couple of holes in it, stuff in a burlap bag with pot and cap the ends. This becomes a favorite toy. Then they hide it and the dogs seek. No wonder the dogs are happy to sniff out drugs; to them they're just looking for their toy! As soon as the dog - Isac - discovered the drugs under the fake heat vent he was given his 'chew' pipe. Isac is a little OCD and constantly walks in left hand circles in his kennel. Confined in a smaller space he practically pirouettes! His handler said he's gotten a lot calmer. When he first got him, when he found dope he'd just spin in place, he was so excited. Now he paws and then lies down.
Plus I got a nice, red Lowes t-shirt with the 'Be A Hero' logo on it! Best part, I got paid, which I really, really need, because today was payday and it wasn't enough to cover my rent. Tomorrow I'll have to get an advance on my credit card, which I really can't afford, just to pay rent. I definitely have to do something, sooner rather than later.
Anyway, bed soon and then up early tomorrow.