Cairo is a six-year-old Belgian Malinois retiring after five years of service on the Summit County K9 team. According to Summit County Sheriff's Lieutenant Andrew Wright, he is a little young to retire, but his ACL tear caused an early departure from the department.
There are three Sheriff’s deputy handlers assigned to each of the three dogs. Each night, the dogs are taken home and become a part of the handlers’ family life.
The program has a $15,000 budget, but costs can vary year by year. Now that Cairo is retired, they're looking for his replacement, and Wright said they search worldwide to find the best fit. The Summit County K9 team focuses on drug enforcement, and the handlers and dog teams must continually be recertified throughout their service.
"Choosing a dog, they put them through some tests to make sure that they've got the drive and the discipline and that they're a good match with the handler. And then, of course, there's the purchasing aspect. So, dogs, on average, run about $11,000. We are responsible out of the sheriff's office budgets to come up with that money. However, they're very generous people in Summit County, and over the years we've had dogs donated."
Mike and Michelle Kerby have three dogs and know what it costs to care for them. They donated three handling vests to the K9 team at a total cost of $600. And to the surprise of the Sheriff's Department, the Kerbys paid for Cairo's $3,500 knee surgery too.
Michelle Kerby said they wanted to express appreciation for the risks and sacrifices of Sheriff's deputies and the K9 team every day.
"It definitely feels good, you know, because you think about the ones that save us, protect us and teach us. Departments of that kind sort of become overlooked as to their needs, and their funding also is very low. And I think most of us here in Park City especially have dogs, and we understand how expensive it is to care for dogs.”
Wright said they hope to have a new dog join the department in the next few months. Local school kids will participate in a naming contest. Dogs have a badge number, just like any deputy in the department. They travel to work with their handlers, spending the day kenneled in their patrol cars and responding to calls.
Wright said there are a variety of risks for the dogs. They're always concerned with the dogs possibly ingesting the contraband when making a drug bust. Other dangers exist.
"There is a risk of them getting shot at. Ours again are at a little bit less risk of that because we don't train them to go apprehend people, so their danger comes with being out on a traffic stop. Of course, there's a traffic danger them accidentally running out into traffic and getting hit by a car or again if the deputy is interacting with someone that's dangerous and they happen to pull a gun."
Wright said in the past, they've had bullet-resistant vests for the dogs, but they are costly, they have a five-year shelf life, and he is not sure if they’re in use.
