Fauquier K-9s perform well in Iron Dog competition

By Alexandra Bogdanovic

Times-Democrat Staff Writer

Justice prevailed in the end.

Last Wednesday, the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office hosted the fourth annual Iron Dog competition for police K-9 teams.

Held at Great Meadow Field Event Center near The Plains, the competition attracted 27 competitors from approximately 15 law enforcement agencies.

K-9 Officer Mike Gubesch of the Fairfax County Police Department and his 5-1/2 year old German shepherd Justice dominated the competition to win the Iron Dog title.

Rod Pollard of the Harrisonburg Police Department and his dog Noble finished second; and Fauquier County Deputy Chad Brubaker and Rik took third.

Each police dog and its handler tested his or her skills on a 1.2-mile course designed by Brubaker and Fauquier Cpl. Darrell Shores.

"There were 10 different things you had to do in that 1.2-mile course," said Brubaker, who is one of four K-9 handlers here.

The timed challenges included searching vehicles for explosives and drugs; criminal apprehension; and a general area search.

First-, second- and third-place trophies were awarded in each category.

Fauquier Cpl. Tony Gregg and Rico took second place in narcotics detection, while Brubaker and Rik took first place in criminal apprehension.

Gubesch, a veteran of past Iron Dog competitions, said he thought the event went well and commended Shores and Brubaker for designing a difficult, competitive course.

"I think the whole course itself was challenging. It was well put together," Gubesch said.

Specifically, he said the distances between the places where handlers and dogs had to complete the timed challenges were not too close together, nor too far apart.

Shores said he and Brubaker designed the activities on the course to follow a pattern of "escalation and de-escalation." In other words, some of the activities required the dogs and handlers to be more assertive, while others required more patience and control.

Serious business

Brubaker and Shores have been on the job with Rik and Ados since November 2006. Deputy Will Harner and Nitro also began patrolling the county together at that time. Gregg and Rico began patrolling together more recently.

Rik and Ados are both Belgian malinois. Nitro and Rico are both German shepherds. All four dogs are trained in basic patrol work, but they each have also received specialized training.

Nitro specializes in bombs and explosives. Ados, Rik and Rico all specialize in drug detection.

According Fauquier County Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox Jr., the county contributed approximately $47,000 for the department's K-9s, training and associated equipment.

The school system also contributed $20,000, since, in addition to their daily duties, the dogs are used to conduct random checks for narcotics and other illegal items in the county's public schools.

K-9s from the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office and surrounding jurisdictions were used to search Fauquier High School after bomb threats there in March.

Fauquier County deputies also called on one of the agency's K-9s to help track the perpetrators in a home invasion and robbery in March.

Last summer, Shores and Ados assisted in the arrest of a Warrenton man on narcotics charges.

But the dogs began to prove themselves as soon as they got here, according to their handlers.

"Every day that I've worked [since we finished school] the dog's been used," Harner said shortly after he and Nitro began working together here.

The handlers and dogs received basic training at an intensive six-week program in Orange County before hitting Fauquier County streets. The K-9 teams continue to hone their skills at special training sessions every other week.

E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com