Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara Police Department
On Tuesday, December 10th at 2 P.M. Santa Barbara Police K9 “Loki” will retire after almost six-years of power-packed service, that’s 42 dog-years! The eight-year-old German Shepard made a career of sniffing out criminal activity with amazing accuracy. Loki’s sense of smell is astonishing. He can smell over 1,000 times better than his human partner and handler, Sergeant Miller. While we have around 5 million scent receptors in our noses, Loki has roughly 225 million.
During their esteemed careers the canine duo were responsible for 183 narcotic “sniffs,” 149 building searches, and 63 arrest apprehensions. The cuddly-pooch turned on an intimidating demeanor while working with his handler and often got the criminal element to surrender without further incident after a few forceful barks.
Loki will now transition into becoming the Miller family dog. As is with national tradition, Sgt. Miller will make a ceremonial donation to the City to fully adopt Loki. The Department recently brought two new dogs to the K9 program, which is largely funded through private donations.
BACKGROUND
The Santa Barbara Police Canine Unit provides improved police services at reduced costs by utilizing the abilities of specially trained dogs. The incredible sense of smell and the desire to protect enable the K9 to perform law enforcement functions such as suspect apprehension, narcotics detection, and assist with SWAT deployments. The Canine Units can reduce the number of police officers otherwise required.
Our Police canines are used most often to search buildings and open areas for suspects. They can provide protection to officers and offer an additional level of non-lethal force to apprehend violent suspects.
The canines are also capable of searching for evidence at crime scenes. The abilities of the Canine Unit continue to expand and improve as the canine officers’ train with their dogs weekly.
