K9 Nation calls it a career

GRANGEVILLE — Last Saturday on K9 Nation’s final weekend on the job, she rode with her handler, Idaho County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Chlebowski, of Elk City, up U.S. Highway 12 on routine patrol.

Chlebowski pulled into the Warm Springs parking lot near Powell where several vehicles were parked. Deputies have been keeping an eye on the popular hot springs ever since a family reported a couple of years ago there were people at the pools doing methamphetamines in full view of their children.

Chlebowski unloaded K9 Nation from his patrol vehicle and walked along the line of cars and people, allowing her to sniff. The 10-year-old German Shepherd has been trained to alert for meth, marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Nation alerted on an unoccupied red Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, but nobody was around and Chlebowski didn’t make contact with the vehicle.

Later that day the deputy spotted the same truck alongside the road. Once again, Nation alerted to drugs but the vehicle was unoccupied and Chlebowski was unable to make contact.

As Chlebowski was driving down the highway, “I saw the vehicle pass me by and I followed it to the Wendover campground,” he said.

This time the deputy made contact with the driver and allowed his second dog, K9 Mic, to perform a third open-air sniff.

“If the dog alerts on a motor vehicle,” the deputy said, “that gives us probable cause to do a search. So it’s a useful tool.”

K9 Mic alerted to drugs in the vehicle, confirming K9 Nation’s earlier detections. Chlebowski did a search and allegedly located multiple items of paraphernalia and methamphetamine. The drugs were seized and Shawn Baskins, 52, of Libby, Mont., was arrested for felony possession of meth and two misdemeanor counts of paraphernalia.

“So she was such a useful tool because she was so laid-back,” and was able to sniff around people and their pets without becoming aggressive.

“She was a perfect fit for that kind of detail. She’s just a fantastic dog.”

K9 Nation has been part of a team of three dogs trained for drug interdiction and working these past several years with the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office. These dogs have proven to be an invaluable tool for keeping drugs off the street and are popular with the public. The dogs are owned by the deputies, but the county helps pay for vet bills and other expenses.

Besides Nation and Mic, Chlebowski has owned two previous drug dogs and during a career hiatus, trained and worked with a bomb-sniffing dog in Iraq.

He bought Nation from a kennel in Spirit Lake.

“She’s sort of a medium-drive dog,” he said of Nation’s level of assertiveness. “Pretty mellow but very play-driven. She was hard to train because she’s medium drive … but she just has a sweet personality, sweet disposition.” That characteristic has made it easy for Chlebowski to bring her around other people and pets.

A couple of years ago Chlebowski noticed that Nation was having some trouble jumping in and out of his pickup truck. That’s a common disability among police dogs who are continually on patrol, he said.

“When we’re working weekends and nights it’s almost nonstop. We might have a dozen or more deployments and that’s a lot of jarring on the joints. She started to require pain meds, anti-inflammatories, and, obviously, I’m helping her in and out of the vehicle.”

While older dogs can still retain their trained responses to drugs, Chlebowski said 10 years is about the maximum for a police dog to work.

“I decided, why work her past where she’s comfortable? For me, it was an easy transition. Because I still have Mic it worked out good this time.”

“So now she gets to get spoiled with my wife and she stays home and I get to play with her in the backyard. She gets to play like a normal dog.”

In the announcement from the sheriff’s office about Nation’s retirement, the staff said: “K9 Nation is not only a working drug dog, but a beloved family member and friend. While we are saddened to see her go, her retirement is well earned and her life with the Chlebowski family will be nothing short of paradise.

“Thank you to K9 Nation and her handler Mike Chlebowski for Nation’s years of service and countless hours of training. We wish you the best and hope you get all the ball throws and belly rubs that you deserve.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com