Local police K-9s featured in new children’s book

EASTHAMPTON, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Not only do police men and women work hard to keep our streets safe, but so to do their furry companions. Meet K-9 Gino. He has been an asset to the Easthampton Police Department for nearly five years now.

“It’s always a very proud feeling when you have that success with a dog and knowing that he does a good job and he makes a difference,” said Easthampton Police Sgt. Andrew Beaulieu

Officers told Western Mass News that police K-9s, like Gino, are an essential part of their force, but not every police dog has the same job. Another K-9 making a difference in the Bay State is Bijou. He’s been working with the Mass. State Police fire and explosion investigation section since 2017.

After originally being trained to become a seeing eye dog, Bijou learned to detect ignitable liquids. His handler, Trooper Patrick Clayton, told Western Mass News this helped the K-9 locate evidence which solved an arson case for the department.

“In this case, the guy that poured the gasoline got it on himself, so he got it on his shoes and she alerted to the shoes that were like 100 yards away from where the fire actually occurred. She went right over to the shoes and sat…I didn’t even know the shoes were there,” Clayton explained.

After gaining some popularity for their work, both Bijou and Gino are the stars of the children’s book, “What Does A Police Dog Do?” Local author Ellen Feld told Western Mass News what she was amazed with was how much the K-9′s know after completing arson detection certification with them and seeing just how important they are to the police force.

“They have to pick up, basically, one drop of liquid in a big pile of burned papers or books or furniture or whatever else might be in a fire and these dogs just made it look easy and it was so amazing and they did it all for a little piece of kibble…I think people see a police dog and think they all do the same thing and they don’t. They’re all very specialized and it’s just amazing to see how these dogs work,” Feld explained.

You can CLICK HERE for more information on purchasing Feld’s book.

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