Officer Larry sniffs out drugs for SFPD

The Sheboygan Falls Senior Dining Center recently had a visit from Officer Larry, a Black Labrador that works with the Sheboygan County Multijurisdictional Enforcement Group (MEG Unit), and he brought his handler, Lt. Craig Plehn, from the Sheboygan Falls Police Department.

“Always trust your dog,” said Plehn, “their sense of smell is one thousand times more powerful than what we can smell.”

Officer Larry is five-and-a-half years old. “I got Larry when he was almost one year old,” explained Plehn. Before Plehn could become his handler, it needed to be determined if a bond would be developed between them. “I had to learn how to detect when Larry detected drugs or if it was just another dog.”

“We had two weeks of training together,” continued Plehn. A good bond is very important between the dog and a handler.

“Those first two weeks were initially to develop that bond and then I had to work with him,” said Plehn. “We did develop a good bond and now we need to go back to Indiana and get re-certified so we can be checked if things are still working well for us.”

There are two types of drug dogs, dual-purpose and single-purpose.

The dual-purpose drug dogs are more expensive to keep and they are usually German Shepherds. They are not only used for drugs, but for other criminal activity, tracking, and finding bombs. “Officer Larry is a single purpose dog,” said Plehn.

“He stays with my family and that’s a good thing, but I don’t teach him tricks like you would a regular family pet.”

“When I go to work, Larry comes to work,” said Plehn. “Officer Larry is always ready to go. I just grab the leash and he is ready!”

“These dogs begin their training at three-to-six months old,” said Plehn. “I train with him every day, but the training is kept simple.”

Dogs can be trained to be aggressive or passive indicators. “Larry is an aggressive indicator,” Plehn explained. “He pinpoints where the drugs are and goes straight to where the odor is and will start to scratch. A passive indicator will only sniff and sit.”

“I need to keep substantial records for Larry regarding training and accomplishments, but that is necessary for all the dogs,” Plehn added.

Sheboygan County has three dogs. Two dual-purpose and one single-purpose – Larry.

Officer Larry is able to detect seven different drug odors – marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, meth, heroin and oxycodone.

Plehn uses a canvas bag with newspaper inside as the indicator to alert Larry to his cue to find drugs. This procedure was demonstrated at the Senior Center when Plehn removed the canvas pouch from his pocket and gave Larry the command to search for drugs that Plehn had planted earlier.

“Larry does what’s called a free search,” explained Plehn, as Larry scouted the room. “I just let him go when we are in a building, or room, but we do a controlled search if we are on highways with vehicles or in an isolated area.”

“This canvas bag equates to Larry to find drugs,” said Plehn, “and he knows that other toys are for playing. And he does what he’s supposed to do because he wants to keep the owner happy.”

“Larry is able to find drugs even if they are in a container that is air tight,” said Plehn, in answer to questions. “Odors will leak out and the person placing them in the container will have put the odor on the outside of the container when they were doing that placement.”

“Officer Larry is remarkable,” said Plehn, “he has found a variety of drugs in places they never would have been found without a dog. He has given us many success stories.”

It is not a prerequisite that drug dogs be purebred, and Larry isn’t. He gets a healthy daily diet of 3-1/2 cups of Iams dog food – and no table scraps.

Officer Larry costs the taxpayers nothing. He was furnished through federal grant money, the Sheboygan Animal Hospital donates the care, his dog food comes from Blattner’s Piggly Wiggly in Sheboygan Falls, and Sheboygan Chevrolet donates the van needed for transportation.

“These businesses came forward to help,” Plehn said, “and that’s very much appreciated.”

The Multijurisdictional Enforcement Group (MEG), in its current state was formed in 1993. It is a joint task force, representing the law enforcement agencies of Sheboygan County. Fulltime officers assigned to the unit come from the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department, Sheboygan Police Department, and Plymouth Police Department. The Sheboygan Falls Police Department is also represented on the unit, in addition to their K-9, Larry. Every agency in the county has specially trained personnel, able to assist the Meg Unit at any time.

The mission of the MEG Unit is to diligently investigate criminal activity within Sheboygan County, specializing in drug enforcement.

The MEG Unit receives a tremendous amount of information concerning possible drug activity in the area. All law enforcement agencies in the county forward drug arrest information and drug tips to the unit. The unit also receives information from citizens, informants, individuals with pending criminal charges, and anonymous tips.

All information that is received is analyzed and evaluated for reliability and importance. The information is prioritized, and the MEG Unit targets the highest-level narcotics dealers.