Members of Watonga’s law enforcement and first responder community gathered with their families Saturday at the Roman Nose General Store for an unusual, but well-deserved, retirement party.
Mate, the 9-year-old German Shepherd handled by Watonga Police Chief Shawn Kays, is retiring from the force. “Big Mate” spent the evening sniffing around the store, greeting his party guests and playing with Kays’ other German Shepherds.
Attendees brought gifts and treats for Mate, and the K-9 was even rewarded with a big steak and a taste of ice cream during the festivities.
Mate came to Oklahoma in 2013 when he was acquired by then-Undersheriff Travis Daugherty, who is now the county sheriff. He came from the Little Rock K-9 Academy, Kays said.
Mate was trained to apprehend suspects but “washed out,” Kays said, because he was scared of loud banging noises like gunshots. So he transitioned into a detection dog, smelling for drugs and contraband.
Daugherty donated Mate to the city of Watonga when he left the sheriff’s department following the election of Tony Almaguer. He specified that only Kays could handle Mate, as Kays had helped Daugherty train the K-9.
Kays became certified to handle Mate and is proud to say that Mate hasn’t cost the city any extra money.
He also said Mate has an excellent record of accuracy. “He is hardly ever wrong,” Kays said. “We’ve gotten real lucky with him. He’s got a really great nose.”
When Mate smells drugs – like cocaine hidden in someone’s vehicle, for instance – he sits near the smell. Sitting is Mate’s “alert,” Kays said, designed to show Kays that Mate is on the scent.
But sitting isn’t the end of it, Kays explained. “I want my dog to be 100 percent accurate,” Kays said. “So when he sits, after all that, I’ll watch him.” If the alert is legitimate, Kays said, Mate can’t be pulled away, distracted or dissuaded. That’s how Kays knows Mate is serious.
Sometimes, subtle signals tell Kays that Mate isn’t really alerting and officers shouldn’t search a vehicle, which can be frustrating to officers who don’t fully understand Mate’s process. “I’ll get called out, they’ll believe there’s drugs there, the dog will sit, and I’ll still say no – put him back in the car and say, ‘no alert,’” Kays said.
But if Mate isn’t sure, then Kays said it’s not worthwhile to compromise his excellent track record – and not ethical, at that point, to search someone’s property.
“I’m not going to jeopardize the credibility of my dog,” Kays said.
Unfortunately, Kays got bad news when Mate developed a fever recently and went to the vet. The veterinarian recommended that Mate retire soon because of hip problems and a pinched nerve that will, eventually, make it difficult for the dog to jump in and out of police vehicles and do other regular aspects of his job.
“By us retiring him now,” Kays said, “we’ll extend the quality of life tremendously. If we kept working him hard, he would diminish quick.”
So what’s next for the Watonga K-9 program? Kays said he expects there will be another dog on the force soon, but he won’t be the one to handle it.
“It really is a full-time job,” he said. “That’s why I’m not going to be the next K-9 handler. When I became the K-9 handler, like I said, I wasn’t the chief.”
Kays wants the next handler to be passionate and committed, ready to take on the responsibility of caring for another living being.
He said he’ll continue to care for Mate in his retirement years. Mate has a long track record of accuracy and service – he once found drugs stashed in a truck’s engine that got that repeat offender a 50-year sentence, Kays said.
Likely the only locals happy to see Mate retire are the ones he busted. But after years of service, Mate now gets to live a simpler life.
“He’s 9 years old,” Kays said. “He’s earned the right to be a dog now.”