South SF Hosts K-9 Competition
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KCBS) _ It was a weekend of "paws-on" competition in South San Francisco as 23 K-9 teams from around Northern California chased down and put the bite on bad guys at South City High School.
Belmont police officer Mike Chicas said he can always count on his German Shepherd Nitro.
"The handler's attacked by another bad guy and he's supposed to engage the other bad guy assaulting him," said Chicas. "He did very well."
Podcast
Corporal Marty Mahon of South City said the narcotics sniffing competition is off limits to the public because the bad guys are actually good guys, but the dope is real.
"This is basically called a courage test. We send a dog into a room you can't see inside of," said Mahon. "And a decoy shakes stuff that's over the dog's head."
The best nose for narcotics belonged to Turner, a black lab from the city of Angel's Camp.
Mahon said sadly, it's a sign of the economic times as many police dogs are getting pink slips just like regular cops.
