New K-9 and Handler Join the San Ramon Police Force

The newest member of the San Ramon Police Department is 4 years old, weighs about 70 pounds and responds to commands in Dutch.

His name is Bongo and he is a German shepherd from the Netherlands.

Earlier this month, the K-9 finished his first shift with his handler, Officer Chris Bruce, and so far things are going "very well."

"I'm glad I have Bongo available to me to do my job better," Bruce, 38, said. "I'll be able to use Bongo to locate a missing child or an Alzheimer's or mentally challenged patient that walks off, possibly same someone's life."

Tracking people as well as guns, drugs and other dangerous articles is just one of several skills that the pair were drilled on during their month-long certification training at the Concord Naval Weapons Station.

Protection work and obedience were the other two key areas, according to Bruce, whose responsibility as the new K-9 officer includes making sure Bongo is deployed in the right situations and right ways.

"K-9's are another tool that we have available to us but they're a tool that comes with a lot of liability," he said. "Ninety percent of the time the K-9 is on the leash (but) you want to have the ability to recall your dog and that's why obedience is the foundation of everything."

The department already has two K-9's and officers but Police Chief Scott Holder said he asked City Council to buy another dog because one of the K-9's in 10 years old and nearing the end of its career.

"One of the dogs is going to be retiring soon and we want to avoid only having one," he said.

Holder added that the department could benefit from keeping the K-9 count at three, but the decision lies with Council members and is expected to come within the next budget year.

"(The K-9's) won't be there 24 hours a day but that ability to have three different dogs means have more coverage each week," he said.

While adding a dog was part of the police budget, Bongo was paid for through community donations, Holder said. The only cost to the department was outfitting the vehicle with a K-9 cage.

Bongo was picked from a pool of dogs at a kennel in Riverside, Calif.

Meeting Bongo for the first time is an experience that is engraved in Bruce's memory.

"It was a very interesting and neat thing to see," he said. "You're basically handed a leash with a dog that's barking and angry and they just say, 'Here's your dog,' and that's how the relationship begins."

Even after they gained certification on July 8, it's an ongoing learning process, Bruce said.

"We've had our good days and our bad days," he said. "He's very highly trained but he's still a dog, an animal. We're still getting used to each other and still forming the bonding process."

K-9 Officer Marty Echelmeier, who works the same 6 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. graveyard shift as Bruce and Bongo, said they're "both progressing"

"Bongo is a very sociable dog—very levelheaded, has a lot of energy, which is exactly what we're looking for in San Ramon," Echelmeier, 45, said. "From everything I've seen in training it seems like he's going to work out just fine."

Preparation was a component in Bruce's success, according to the other K-9 Officer, Keith Butler, 31.

"It was easier for (Bruce) to adapt because he came to watch our dogs and acted as an agitator with our dogs before getting his," he said. 

The K-9 officer's responsibilities extend beyond work hours — Bongo has essentially become a member of Bruce's family. The German shepherd has his own private house in his master's backyard and gets baths and walks.

"I kind of equate it to being a single parent and the only person that can watch the dog," Bruce said.

Despite the demands, Bruce, who has served the department since 2002, said he loves his new job and "couldn't imagine doing anything else."

"You eat dog, sleep dog, think dog," he said. "It's dog 24/7, so you definitely have to like dogs and that's what I am — a big dog lover."