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By Kate Daly | Special to the Almanac
When Qancy gets home from work, she takes off her uniform, just like her handler Atherton police officer Krystal Pronske.
Qancy wears one collar on the job when she’s a police dog tracking down suspects, missing people and articles, or busy protecting Officer Pronske and other officers. The German shepherd wears another collar when she’s “the goofy dog at home,” hanging out with Officer Pronske and her young son.
Atherton’s Police Department has had a K-9 unit since 1966, and for at least a decade has been getting dogs from Witmer-Tyson Imports, a breeding, boarding and training business based in Menlo Park.
Randy Tyson Witmer and her husband, David Witmer, started the company in the early 1970s. She has been raising dogs since she was a teenager. He was a San Jose police officer, and in the K-9 unit.
The couple are also active in the Menlo Park Schutzhund Club, a group that competes in dog trials, testing disciplines of tracking, obedience and protection.
Jim Stark, who has been selecting and training dogs for Witmer-Tyson for 19 years, was with the San Leandro police force and K-9 unit. He estimates about 95 percent of the company’s dogs go to homes, and the rest are usually snapped up by the 40 to 45 law enforcement agencies Witmer-Tyson does business with up and down the state.
“Randy’s a breeder of German shepherds, one of the top breeders in the country,” he says.
Mr. Stark goes on buying trips with the couple to Europe about three times a year, looking for German shepherds that are “high quality, really good pedigree,” says granddaughter Tiffany Tyson, who manages the kennel part of Witmer-Tyson.
Karli, a 7-year-old German shepherd who recently retired from the Atherton Police Department, was born and trained in Germany before Witmer-Tyson brought her to the U.S. She responds to German commands.
Qancy came from the Czech Republic, so Officer Pronske uses Czech commands to communicate with her 4-year-old partner.
They train with Mr. Stark two times a week, and practice daily on their own. Qancy’s reward? A game of toss. She loves playing with a ball, says Officer Pronske.
Officer Pronske remembers a case in Palo Alto in 2014 when Qancy was part of a search for a suspect hiding in a house. The suspect “came out and tried to sneak past where we were, saw the dogs and surrendered,” she says.
The duo has also assisted on burglaries in San Carlos and Redwood City.
Officer Pronske describes their partnership as “a much stronger bond, most definitely, because we are with each other 24/7.”
John Mattes worked for both Atherton and Menlo Park police departments, and was a deputy sheriff in San Mateo County’s K-9 unit before starting his own security business.
He recalls working with one dog he bought from an employee at Witmer-Tyson. They trained on obstacle courses and practiced protection and search exercises for two years before they were deemed ready for action.
Bogie, a German shepherd-collie mix weighing about 75 pounds, was small enough to search under a house for suspects and especially good at article search. He once located missing gym equipment that burglars had jettisoned at a school in East Palo Alto.
Mr. Mattes says Bogie retired at age 10 because “jumping fences and landing is a hard life for a dog, but he was the best partner I’ve ever had bar none.”
Peg Thompson serves on the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Canine Specialized Search Team with Sage, an 11-year-old she got as a puppy from Witmer-Tyson, and then went on to train in search and rescue. Sage’s mother was from the Czech Republic, her father from Austria.
“Sage is probably the best German shepherd anybody has met,” Ms. Thompson says.
Her daughter recently purchased a puppy from Witmer-Tyson to use as a family dog.
Mr. Stark says Witmer-Tyson does a lot of testing to screen for the right dog, particularly when it comes to selecting one for law enforcement work.
A dog typically costs less than $10,000 to buy, but that’s just the start of expenses when vet, food and training bills are added to the mix.
The Atherton Police Department has been fortunate local residents have been willing to donate money to buy police dogs, outfit the special K-9 vehicles, and cover food, vet, equipment and training costs.
Officer Pronske says the department is now looking to start a Canine Association, similar to a Police Officers Association, to help cover some of the expenses, “and we’re tying to send another handler to school in October.”
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Very interesting story, thanks!