In the nearly seven years he’s been in the MSU Police Department’s K-9 Unit, Officer Mike Cantrell and his dog, Semtex, have formed a bond that will be tough to go without and even tougher to match.
But last week, Cantrell’s German Shepherd, nicknamed “Tex,” went to work with him for the last time. Specifically trained to track people and explosives, 8-year-old Tex officially has retired.
During his career, Tex has successfully tracked several runaways, some of whom were involved in vehicle thefts.
Tex’s hips and hamstrings have begun to deteriorate quickly, a common condition in German Shepherds. MSU police Sgt. Dan Munford said Tex’s retirement is a huge loss for the department.
Cantrell said it was time to let him be a normal dog.
“He’s very weak in his back legs, and he falls a lot,” he said. “It’s unfair to him to keep him going, as much as he wants to.”
This week, Cantrell will select and begin training a new dog. Tex will continue living with him and will have to adjust to the new company at home.
Cantrell will choose a new K-9 out of 15 dogs imported from Germany by a supplier in Lima, Ohio. The new dog will be the second in the K-9 unit’s history to specialize in narcotics tracking.
Unlike his pairing with Tex, he said he will take a more hands-on approach when choosing his new dog, judging each one based on trained aggression, tracking and demeanor. Dogs selected typically range between one and two years old.
“They have to be social dogs for the community around here and the events we do,” he said. “At games there are people who approach him, and we do K-9 demonstrations for kids, so he has to be friendly.”
After he picks his dog, Cantrell will spend about a month in training in Taylor, Mich., and another two months in weekly training back in East Lansing. He said it likely will be a “green” dog, meaning it has received minimal training before being paired with a K-9 officer.
In a previous interview with The State News, MSU police officer Gary Heckman, handler for K-9 Clyde and K-9 Gauge, said the new dogs typically need time to mature.
“Every one of these dogs is hyper,” Heckman said. “They have to have a drive, and most dogs that are driven … are gonna have a lot of energy, and (training is) controlling that energy.”
Throughout the years the pair have spent together, Cantrell said he and Tex have become so in sync he can predict his actions while tracking. He said it could take about two years to perfect the same relationship in a new dog.
“It’s neat how you can connect with an animal,” Cantrell said. “It helps while we’re working because if I can tell if (Tex is) close to a bad guy or about ready to sit if there’s a bomb. I know what he’s about to do.”
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