Follow the nose, it always knows

At first glance, Noeska looks like just another dog. She pants, she wags her tail and she offers doggie kisses to her handler.

But when sheriff’s deputy Rick Crown snaps on the leather leash and says “zitz”, Noeska is no longer just another dog. She’s a working member of a law enforcement team.

Noeska is Dawson County’s K-9 officer, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois who is trained to sniff out narcotics or track down a hiding criminal or lost child.

Crown accepted Noeska as his partner in March 2008, completing his training and certification last month.

“I’ve always wanted to work with a drug dog,” said Crown, who has spent the last 2 years of his seven-year law enforcement career in Dawson County. “We’re both adrenaline junkies so it works out pretty well.”

This is not Noeska’s first assignment. She had two handlers in Dawson County prior to Crown.

“I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time,” Crown said. “It’s like a constant game of hide and seek and we usually win.”

Since Noeska is a veteran in this line of work, it was Crown who required the five-week training course at the Nebraska State Patrol Academy.

That’s where he learned the German voice commands, the dog’s way of indicating a find and the finer points of handling a highly-trained animal.

“We’re still getting used to each other,” he said.

Noeska is primarily used for locating narcotics.

For example, Crown said if an officer suspects drug activity during a routine traffic stop and the person in question denies consent for the officer to do a search, the K-9 unit can be called.

“We’re on call 24/7,” Crown said.

A majority of the time, Noeska will sniff out drugs if they’re present.

Crown said during an exercise at the academy, Noeska found 10 pounds of marijuana that was vacuum sealed and wrapped in 10 different trash bags, then covered in mustard leaves and coffee grounds.

When she makes a find, she sits down at the site. That’s a passive indicator, Crown said.

Other dogs are trained in aggressive indicators such as digging and clawing to retrieve the substance.

Crown said Noeska and other narcotics dogs can smell drugs despite the variety of ways that dealers attempt to mask the odors.

The power of a canine’s nose is so strong, it can differentiate between many scents in close proximity.

Crown used pizza as an example.

“When we walk into a room where someone has just taken a pizza out of the oven, we smell pizza,” he said. “A dog can smell the pepperoni, the cheese, the crust, all of the individual ingredients.”

That’s why K-9 officers are not fooled by the attempts to throw off their noses, he said.

In just the few months the two have worked together, Noeska and Crown have made 19 narcotics arrests including one bust for 250 pounds of marijuana found during a search in Cozad.

“I love the thrill of the hunt,” Crown said. “I’m pretty sure she does too.”

The majority of Noeska’s finds have been marijuana or methamphetamine but Crown said the dog uncovered several doses of LSD in December.

“She found the LSD because of some marijuana,” he said, “but that’s a big find.”

While Noeska’s strength is drug work, the dog is also trained to uncover evidence as small as a lithium battery and track on scent.

“If we have a scent and a last known direction of someone, she can track them down,” Crown said.

In the past, Noeska was used for apprehension of criminals as well but has been retired from that duty due to her age.

“I’m sure there are other things she knows how to do,” Crown said. “She’s still teaching me.”

Crown and Noeska work 12-hour shifts together, rotating every two weeks.

Crown said the dog is by his side every minute, unless he’s required to be in a courtroom or doing office work for extended periods.

“Our job never ends,” Crown said, explaining that one of the most difficult aspects of being a K-9 handler is time management. “Even when we’re not on the clock there’s still feeding and training and caring for the dog.”

Noeska definitely knows the difference between work and home.

When the back door opens to the white Dawson County Trailblazer, Noeska knows she’s on duty.

“She always gets excited to go to work,” Crown said. “You can’t beat a partner who’s always happy.”

When Noeska is at home with Crown, his wife Alisa and daughters Mady and Rebecca, she’s little more than a family pet who loves to play and sleep.

“She likes playing fetch a lot but she gets pretty possessive of her toys,” Crown said.

And sometimes, even when she is supposed to be working, Crown said Noeska just wants to be a dog.

“I can’t blame her for that,” he said.

Balancing work, family and outside interests has been a challenge for Crown already but he says he never regrets taking on the huge responsibility of having Noeska as his partner.

“I’ll probably have her until she is no longer able to work,” Crown said. “And hopefully then I’ll get another dog.”

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