Partners against crime: A look at a JCPD officer's partnership with his K9 companion

Dakota Couch and his K-9 officer Duchess are partners against crime. The Johnson City Police Department officer and his four-legged Dutch Shepherd companion have been joined at the hip for nearly two months since Duchess's addition to the force was announced in January. Though Duchess is a young dog, just over a year old, and is Couch's first K-9 partner, the bond between the two has grown quite close. Since she's been with the force, she's already having an impact on making the streets safer, with her specialties in narcotics detection, apprehension and tracking, as well as article and building searches. "It's been nice to have that tool," Couch said. "She's a tool to the department, but she's more than that to me – she's my partner. But it's been very nice to have that tool when you reach a dead end and you're like, 'Wait a second, I have a dog that smells drugs,' and she's been absolutely amazing." Being a K-9 officer for the department has always been something Couch has found interesting. Before he was partnered with Duchess, he said he spent a full year going to K-9 trainings as a trainee, witnessing how the dogs work while helping with their skills – which included being on the inside of the bite suit. In that year, though, Couch said he knew it was what he wanted to do, leading to him applying for the K-9 position. "I came to the trainings, realized I really liked it a lot, and I wanted to be on the other end of the bite suit," he said with a chuckle. "I did that for a year, and that's when I applied to the K-9 position." Once accepted for the position, Couch said he traveled with another officer to Ohio to pick out the dog he wanted to be his partner, which is when he met Duchess. Her demeanor when demonstrating a bite, he said, is what set her apart. "We were checking to see how they bit and stuff like that because apprehension is part of their training," Couch said. "I put a sleeve on and she bit the sleeve, and as soon as she outted from the sleeve, you could go back to pet her. She's like 100 to zero, depending on the context of what's going on. Some of the other dogs, once they get riled up, you have to give them 15, 20 minutes to calm down." While Couch and Duchess are an unshakeable duo, he admitted there is much more maintenance in being a handler than he realized. When they get up in the morning, Couch said he's working with Duchess on general obedience and training to get her prepared for the day before they step into their duties – such as responding to business alarms, assisting with traffic stops or patrolling the city. He added they will also assist on search warrants, and he tries to dedicate an hour of time with Duchess' training in any of her specialty areas. Maintaining Duchess's cleanliness, though, is much more than he imagined. "K-9 Units usually leave an hour early – they give you an hour for maintenance for your dog," Couch said. "Because I got that stinky dog, when I get home, guess what I get to do? I get to clean my stinky dog. It's a triple-edged sword, if there is such a thing, because the kennel that she sleeps in? It smells like wet dog, so I have to clean it. My car smells like wet dog, so I have to clean it, and my wet dog smells like wet dog, so I have to clean her." While she may have her smelly moments, it does not change how strong of a bond Duchess and Couch share with one another. He described his relationship with her as "like having a pet," praising her loving nature despite being a crime-fighting, working dog. Between having mutual trust in each other and recognizing how aware and reactive Duchess is to his emotions in any situation, Couch said her intuition has consistently surprised him. "Our bond is really strong because she feeds off of me, and I feed off of her, too," Couch said. "I didn't know that she was going to be able to pick up on that kind of stuff." Couch said Duchess will continue to work alongside him for as long as she's healthy and able. In the meantime, he's excited to keep his partner close while they do their jobs in trying to keep the city safe. "I think everybody wants to live in a safe Johnson City – just a safe anywhere," Couch said. "It's nice to have that tool and be able to find these dangerous things and get them off the street."