Shepherd Makes Police Station

His New Home

 By Lois Barber

 “What’s a nice dog like you, doing in a place like this?” I wondered out loud as I spotted a beautiful young, dark male shepherd in a pen at the Newtown Dog Pound. I was answered by Newtown Animal Control Officer Matt Schaub: “We named him Gunther and he appears to be a pure Dutch shepherd. He was found tied to the fence outside the Governor’s Horse Guard facilities early one morning.”

As a volunteer who tries to help cats and canines, I am always on the lookout for pound animals that would make terrific pets, and try to find them a good home, but before I could run Gunther’s photo on my website, he was adopted for the Connecticut State Police by Trooper First Class Kevin Eklund, who is a dog handler with its Canine Unit.

After working with Gunther for a few minutes, Eklund could tell that Gunther was an intelligent dog who was extremely obedient — traits that are needed for working as a police dog. The dog already knew basic commands, which meant he could be easily trained. Gunther was soon on the way to the state’s canine training facility.

Meanwhile, Trooper First Class David Mattioli had recently retired his 8-year-old German shepherd, named Visar, from police work. In January of this year, he was asked if he wanted to work with a Dutch shepherd that was a new arrival.

“As soon as I saw him, my heart was set on him,” Mattioli stated.

Now renamed “Dutch,” the canine and Mattioli started the training academy in February, graduated on May 27, and hit the road the first week of June. As a patrol dog, Dutch is trained in tracking, evidence recovery, crowd control, and to protect his human handler. He has also gained almost ten pounds of muscle.

Both troopers had this to say about Dutch shepherds in general: They are a highly intelligent breed and need to be kept active. They are a tad smaller than a German shepherd, but are more athletic and agile, and can even climb ladders. Eklund, who handles both a Dutch shepherd/German shepherd mix and a bloodhound with the Connecticut State Police, stated, “Dutch shepherds are a ‘high-maintenance, high-end’ breed, and a bit ‘hotter’ than the German shepherd. They are a great dog, but a true working dog and might not be great pets.”

Mattioli stated that Dutch shepherds could be destructive in your home if not properly exercised. Indeed, Newtown’s Canine Officer Schaub told me that Dutch would shred any toy given him within minutes.

Dutch and Mattioli are based in Danielson. Although just on the force a couple of months, Dutch is credited with tracking a suicidal male who ran into the woods, allowing the police to find him and get the man the help he needed. Recently, armed robbers in Griswold crashed their getaway car in Plainfield. Dutch located one of the men who was fleeing on foot. A second dog got another suspect.

The moral to this story is that there are many great dogs available for adoption at your local animal shelter. Just ask Trooper Mattioli.