Andrews – Kiera, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, is set to claim her place in local history.
She began her law enforcement service overseas in Holland before coming to America to work as a police dog in Auburn, Ala., where she apprehended several suspects, including one who shot and seriously wounded her during an arrest. After a year of working with trainer and part-time Andrews police officer Zach Shivers, Kiera is set for a groundbreaking role in Andrews, where she is expected to become the town’s first certified K-9 drug dog.
Police Chief Rocky Burrell told the board of aldermen that a drug dog like Kiera acts as a kind of four-legged, signed search warrant – one that often deters streetwise criminals who understand the limitations of law enforcement officers.
“The reason we need a K-9 ... in today’s world, most of our criminals are educated to an extent,” Burrell said. “If we stop a car, and we know there’s drugs in there but we don’t have probable cause and they tell us, ‘No,’ we can’t search. If we have a K-9 and the dog alerts on the car, we can search it whether they want us to or not.
“It’s a huge deterrent for those educated criminals. If it doesn’t do anything but deter people not to do drug deals in front of us in town ... that’s a huge plus.”
The board of aldermen approved the purchase of the dog March 8 after a demonstration by Shivers, Kiera and officer Megan Selby during a board work session a week earlier.
Burrell asked the town for about $7,500 in initial funding for the purchase of the dog and equipment needed to house and transport her. He said the money can be paid from the town’s account of drug forfeiture money, which totals more than $8,000 and can only be used for related equipment and training.
Burrell said a number of town business owners also have offered to make donations toward funding the dog and its care. Kiera will be assigned to officer Megan Selby and is expected to be ready to begin work in about 6-8 weeks.
“It’s a game changer because the criminals do not want us to get a dog,” Mayor James Reid said. “This is one thing they don’t want to see coming into town.”
K-9 officers typically work until about age 9 but can have longer careers, and a single dog can have a significant impact on drug trafficking. Shivers said he took about $300,000-400,000 worth of drugs off the streets in his first year with a dog.
“Kiera is going to be an excellent asset for Andrews,” Shivers said.
Shivers cares deeply about the Belgian Malinois breed and how it is perceived by the public. He said a handful of states, including Alabama, have their own rules about the number of bites a K-9 can deliver during its law enforcement career.
He was told that Kiera had delivered controlled bites to six different fleeing suspects during her career, making her ineligible to continue working in Alabama. Shivers said he bought Kiera from a third-party handler, who nursed her back to health after she was shot in the line of duty.
“When I saw Kiera, I knew her true potential, and I went ahead and bought her,” Shivers said. “She is a dual-purpose animal, but she’s not going to be used for dual purpose in Andrews.
“She’s not going to be catching fleeing suspects. Her main thing she’s going to be using is her nose and only for narcotics location.”
While Shivers worries Kiera and her breed might gain a reputation as being aggressive dogs simply by doing their duty as K-9 officers, he likewise is concerned that some people may incorrectly see a Belgian Malinois as a typical family pet.
The movie Dog hit theaters Feb. 18 starring actor Channing Tatum alongside a highly trained Belgian Malinois in a road trip adventure. A series of memes have circulated on social media in response to the movie’s release, urging the public against buying a Belgian Malinois without first gaining a proper understanding of the breed’s traits and needs.
Shivers said Belgian Malinois were never meant to be a pet.
“There have been several movies on the Belgian Malinois, and it gives people a perception that the dog is low maintenance,” Shivers said. “From a breeder standpoint, we get a large fluctuation of people when these movies come out, they buy these dogs.
“Backyard breeders don’t take precautions in training people or educating people on the dog prior to sale. These are not German shepherds, these are high-energy animals – and their main purpose is to work.”