EDMOND — It was a discovery right out of a Hollywood storyline, like when a producer discovers a movie star.

This particular storyline involves a stray dog, one of a countless number of strays roaming in cities across the country, a black Labrador brought into Edmond’s animal shelter.

A police officer told Edmond Animal Welfare Officer Michael Reynolds the Police Department was looking for a suitable dog for its K-9 division.

One day, Reynolds was in the shelter, looking among the dogs for a candidate, a dog possessing a lot of energy and drive. He came to a group of three labs. One of them, the black Labrador, was different.

“There was just something about him, his actions,” Reynolds said. “He acted like he was bored and wanted to go out and play.”

Reynolds wanted to do a preliminary assessment of all three labs, so he took the dogs out in the yard, and threw a tennis ball. The same dog that stood out in the shelter was the only one of the three to interact with the ball.

Reynolds gave Edmond’s K-9 division a call and the dog, who would be named Justice, began a new life, a journey toward becoming a police dog.

Justice was paired with Edmond School Resource Officer Dack Pearson, who said man and dog went through an initial pre-training bonding period which included a lot of playtime. The dog showed his intelligence by repeatedly tracking down where the officer hid his tennis balls, Pearson said.

Pearson said he and Justice, who is a year and a half to 2 years old, have something in common.

“I think he’s a lot like me,” Pearson said. “He’s kind of laid back. He has a real strong drive, but he’s very loyal.”

The Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training licenses teams — a dog and a handler — to operate as drug detection dogs and bomb detection dogs. Justice, a single-purpose drug dog, was certified by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics on marijuana, cocaine, meth and heroin.

Edmond’s Boulevard Academy is home base for Pearson and Justice. The dog loves all the attention he gets from students, who seem to enjoy having him around as well, Pearson said.

The team also visits other schools around the city where they do walk-throughs and searches.  

Pearson said being a handler is rewarding.

“I know he’s gonna do a lot of good things in the schools,” Pearson said. “That’s why we initially tried to implement a K-9 program in the schools. We know it’s going to be a huge deterrent. His presence will be well known in all the schools throughout the year.”

Brenda Lyons, associate superintendent of Edmond Public Schools, said district administrators, principals and students are excited about having a drug dog patrolling the halls.

Lyons said the district cannot say enough about how much it appreciates the partnership with police, who provide school resource officers and now a drug dog to help keep students safe.

Glynda Chu, police spokeswoman, said currently Edmond has three patrol-narcotics detection teams, one patrol-explosives detection team and the Pearson-Justice drug detection team for use in the public schools.

Justice and Pearson will play a vital role as they go into the schools and continue the never-ending fight against drugs in the community, Chu said. The team will also be used to educate the public about how the dogs and their specialized talents aid the agency.

“By finding and recruiting Justice from Animal Welfare it shows what great dogs are available at the shelter and it also represents thousands of dollars usually needed to buy a narcotics dog from an outside source,” Chu said. “Justice is already a big winner, and we feel so fortunate to have such a quality dog join the Police Department.”

European-bred police dogs can cost $4,500-$6,000, and then there’s the additional training cost, which results in saved lives and safer streets. Police dogs typically work from 5-7 years.

Chu said the K-9 division has been an integral part of the department since 1984, and it continues to evolve and improve as new techniques and theories are developed and implemented.



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