Preschoolers Get A New Perspective

Middletown Police Officer Douglas Clark and Officer Mike D'Aresta give a demonstration with their K-9 partners Niko and Hunter for the pre-schoolers at the Phelps Ingersoll Center for Children at the Northern Middlesex YMCA in Middletown. (MELISSA PIONZIO/HARTFORD COURANT / July 13, 2009)

MIDDLETOWN – When a police car drove quietly past the outdoor playground of the Phelps Ingersoll Center for Children at the Northern Middlesex YMCA one afternoon, preschool teacher Susan Dzis said she noticed something disturbing.

“One of my little friends started crying and shaking and seemed very upset,” she said of a preschooler at the center. “I think he might have had a negative experience with the police.”

The incident occurred around the time that Middletown Police Officer Douglas Clark and his German Shepherd K-9 partner Niko helped to apprehend a suspect that had been featured on “America’s Most Wanted.” Impressed, Dzis contacted Clark and asked him to come and talk with her students about what he does for a living.

“I wanted to teach my kids about what the police role is in the community and how you can reach out to the police for help,” said Dzis. “I just wanted to turn it around for them. It’s important for them to know that we are being protected in our own community.”

Clark agreed and when the day for his visit arrived, he drove right up to the gate of the center in his police cruiser with 5-year-old Niko perched beside to him. The pair were accompanied by fellow K-9 team Officer Mike D’Aresta and 2-year-old Hunter, who were more than ready to get the presentation started.

“Does anyone know why we use German shepherds?” Clark asked the eager group of preschoolers, whose parents had also come to hear the program. “We use them because they have excellent skills, good noses and the best part is they are very loyal.”

It didn’t take long for the young audience to understand just how well trained and loyal the two dogs are. Without saying a work, Clark and D’Aresta directed their canine partners to sit, lie down and jump in and out of their cruiser windows. And their motivation? A rubber ball attached to a cord.

“They aren’t motivated by food, they are motivated by toys, they would do anything for this ball,” said Clark. “The dogs help us to find lost kids and they help us to find criminals and they help keep us safe.”

“They also help with evidence recovery,” added D’Aresta, pointing to a sparkly bracelet on one child’s wrist. “You have that pretty bracelet. If you lost it and it was over there in the woods, Officer Hunter could find it.”

The children sat wide-eyed, often standing for a better view or nervously covering their mouths with their hands as Clark and D’Aresta engaged in training maneuvers. At one point, when D’Aresta put on a protective arm guard and pretended to attack Clark, Niko came charging through the open cruiser window and chomped aggressively onto D’Aresta’s protected arm.

“They are not attack dogs,” said Clark. “They are patrol dogs. They only attack if they see someone is hurting us.”

The K-9 teams have been through 15 weeks of training with the Connecticut State Police, are re-certified twice a year and participate in monthly training sessions. D’Aresta, who teaches DARE classes at St. Mary School in Middletown, said he was bitten by a dog while delivering the Hartford Courant as a boy — but the incident didn’t keep him from becoming part of the city’s K-9 team.

“I enjoy it. It helps people to understand that these are not attack dogs,” said D’Aresta of the visit to the center. “It gets them out there and it’s a way for the kids to see that they are not going to attack them, they are friendly and well-trained.”

Five-year-old Tyler Marks watched the presentation closely as he snuggled up between his parents on the playground grass.

“I liked the biting part, I thought they were biting his arm for real,” said Tyler. “They are smart, because they can search for a kid.”

“I wanted to pet them,” said 4-year-old Shania Evans. “I liked the dogs when they listen because they are good police officers. But the biting part made me nervous!”

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