Canine unit gives CES third graders lesson in teamwork

Cedaredge Elementary School third graders concluding a first week of school study unit on teamwork Aug. 29 were treated to a memorable demonstration of working together by Officer Dan Sanders of the Cedaredge Police Department and his co-worker in the CPD K-9 unit, Officer Buddy.
“The classes all read a story about how it’s better to work as a team,” explained Anna Gash, third grade teacher. “Teamwork was the moral of the story.”
All 75 third grade students participated in the unit including those from Peggy Smith’s and Stacey Schmalz’s classes.
As an example of teamwork the teachers couldn’t have picked a better duo than Officer’s Sanders and Buddy of the CPD. The two are constant companions. “We work together and live together. We go everywhere together,” Sanders told the students.
Buddy is a full service K-9 officer. In his work with the CPD he does mainly tracking, building search, drug search and seizure work, and catching bad guys.
Buddy, a pure black German shepherd, is two and a half years old and has been with the CPD for almost a year. Sanders is a four-year veteran with the CPD.
Buddy is bi-lingual and responds to commands in both English and Dutch, his native tongue.
They train together twice a month along with other K-9 unit teams in Grand Junction.
One secret to their success as a team is that all of the work Buddy does is treated as a game. Buddy’s main motivation is to please his handler. By making their serious work into a game for the dog, the two police officers increase their bond of closeness and work efficiency with every situation they encounter.
Sanders and Buddy gave the students a demonstration of the K-9 unit at work. Buddy quickly sniffed out two hidden stashes of drugs and showed the students how he can “take a bite out of crime” with a demonstration of his suspect capture skills.
The students were attentive and asked lots of questions and volunteered answers to those asked by Sanders during his talk.

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