Officer Manning, The K9 handler has had new dog Aki since February of 2022. The new dog was purchased for Musselshell County Sheriffs Department due to the law change that legalized marijuana. The previous dog, Rico was trained to detect marijuana, and therefore was not able to continue to be used by the county as a drug dog. Within the first week working with the department, Aki helped officer Manning in apprehending a male running and crossing the river to escape detainment. Though gone, Rico is not forgotten, and Officer Manning said that he is still a working police dog. He was sold to a police department in Kansas where Marijuana is still illegal.

When officer Manning got Rico, the dog had been trained, but he had to have training on how to use him. This time around with Aki, Manning was able to go back and become a dog/officer trainer. He has helped train thirty-seven new dogs and officers. Officer Manning is one of three trainers that is still active law enforcement. He does a lot of maintenance training with the dogs and handlers. Maintenance training is used to sharpen up minor issues that the handler doesn’t know how correct. He helps work with retraining issues. The officer’s ability to be a dog trainer is not only beneficial to Musselshell county, but other K9 handlers in Montana.

Aki has all the same commands as Rico plus a few more. When training, the dogs are kept separate from one another, because the dogs all have very strong personalities. “A lot of times with these kinds of working dogs there is a strong propensity for a dog fight, the dogs are very expensive, and they are company property, we don’t risk an issue with interaction.” States Manning.

Musselshell County owns the K9 dog like a piece of equipment. He is provided dog food by the county. Manning supplements the dog’s expenses with grants, and other ways to fund the program. He was able to fund the program with $175 for two years for Rico. That was mainly for some minor vet bills. The dog was donated a security vest imported from Canada, as well as Narcan and first aid that was no cost to the county. All of the officers carry Narcan, but there is a separate one for the dog. Aki is fed twice a day with one and a half cups of dog food. He does not get treats and snacks because he cannot risk damage. He does have some reward toys, but is not given a toy any other time. While the dog lives with Officer Manning, his significant other is not allowed to spoil the dog, because he is a working dog.

Manning and Aki can be called into Billings or other places that a dog is needed, as long as Musselshell County service is first. Aki is trained to detect cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, and can find missing people. The officer and the dog are a bonded team, and would be counted on to save each other’s life. If the dog is detecting something or is interested in someone, the officer says “I don’t let dogs make decisions; at the end of the day, I make the decision.”

While humans have around 5 million olfactory receptors, a dog has about 250 million, which is why they are able to detect what a human cannot even smell. This is why they are excellent assistance to officers for drug detection, as well as being a physical back up during confrontations and chase.

It is good news that Musselshell County has a K9 and an officer who is also a training handler. This is a boost to our local force, and a resource for the surrounding counties as well.