For Max Fairchild waiting on a drug dog to arrive anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes was just not acceptable as he waited on a friend. That situation has led him to give a very generous gift to the Guthrie Police Department.
Fairchild, who is the owner of the car dealerships AutoMax and soon will be building a Guthrie dealership, was in town with a local Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper when a suspicious out-of-state vehicle was pulled over for possible narcotics. Fairchild and the trooper had to wait over an hour for an Edmond K9 unit to arrive and search the vehicle.
“That’s when I said we need a dog in Guthrie,” Fairchild said. “So I decided to donate a dog to them (GPD).”
The department is pleased to announce Officer Jalo.
Pronounced (Yah-low), Jalo means “yellow” in German and is currently 20 months old and comes from Czechoslovakia where he started his training. He arrived in Oklahoma four months ago and continued his training with K9 expert Wolfgang Hinker in Shawnee.
Jalo is half German Shepard and half Malinois and currently weighs 57 pounds and could weigh as much as 80 to 95 pounds.
Like all police officers, Jalo is a commission officer and a week ago was registered with CLEET (Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training). He will continue with follow-up training for at least 16 hours a month.
Max Fairchild (left), Officer Jacob Garrett, Police Chief Damon Devereaux and Jalo stand outside the Guthrie Police Department.
Jalo will be partnered with Officer Jacob Garrett, who joined the department in Feb. 2009. Both officers will be available at all times.
Jalo comes at an important time for Garrett, who him his wife just brought home their second-born child just days ago.
“We want the streets to be safe,” Fairchild said who donated $7,800 for Jalo. “Just the presence of a dog like this changes the demeanor of a lot of people.”
“The whole purpose of the dog is not to have a mean dog, but a friendly dog. However, you want a dog with a great nose to find the drugs and if needed to save a life with a command.”
“You want a multi-purpose dog. I don’t think we could have gotten a better dog,” Fairchild concluded.
Way to go Damon. This is an excellent addition to the Guthrie Police Dept.
Richard
What a great addition to the Guthrie team. Thanks Max, Jacob and Damon! and congratulations.
That’s cool , maybe the maybe the k9 can teach the cops how to use their blinkers and stop speeding and tail gate threw are town.
Dont be a VICTIM ST!!!!!