Southfield K-9 handlers discuss the city’s top dogs

SOUTHFIELD — When asked about her favorite part of being a K-9 handler for the Southfield Police Department, Officer Ashley Daisley said, “Everything.”

It’s been her dream since fifth grade. She’s always been a dog lover, and she vividly remembers when a K-9 officer visited her middle school classroom, bringing her to the life-changing realization that she could go to work every day with a dog.

Daisley is the handler of Kenzo, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois narcotics patrol K-9. Kenzo is the third police dog that Daisley has handled. Although he is a “huge baby” at home, she emphasized that he is a working dog with a specific job to do.

“When we’re picking out a police dog, like I picked him personally for myself, some of the things that we look for are what we call that ‘on and off switch.’ So they have to be able to be disciplined and do what we ask them to do, but then also come back down and be obedient.”

Daisley expressed how reassuring it is knowing that Kenzo is trained in handler protection, meaning that he will immediately engage and defend her if she were being assaulted. The K-9 unit is trained in suspect apprehension, and often, the canine is the first to confront the suspect and put their life on the line for the public’s safety.

Southfield canine officer Rocco, a 3-year-old Dutch shepherd/Belgian Malinois, is an explosives patrol K-9. Due to the strong scent receptors in dogs, they are well equipped for narcotics and explosives odor detection. When a canine detects a narcotic or explosive odor, they are trained to alert officers by displaying a passive or aggressive signal.

Rocco’s handler, Officer Dylan Gorecki, explained that the dogs are technically the property of the city until they retire. However, officers are allowed to purchase the dog when they reach retirement.

“There’s a strong bond, and they become like family. It is really cool, because you definitely form more of a bond with them. You’re spending every day with them. We wake up at 5 a.m. every day. We get dressed together. We eat breakfast together. We drive together. I spend more time with him than anyone else,” noted Gorecki.

There was a time when Daisley and her husband, Novi police Officer Michael Daisley, who is also a K-9 handler, had five police dogs at once. The couple currently have three dogs — a Southfield police dog, a Novi police dog and a retired Novi police dog. Ashley Daisley explained that the two current police dogs are rotated so that they are not in the house at the same time. She added that, in general, the dogs on the force don’t interact with each other, so they follow that model at home as well.

“They’re extremely expensive dogs,” she said. “We train them to kind of be alpha males. And a lot of them are intact, meaning they’re not neutered. So we don’t typically let them interact with other dogs just because the benefit of them being together versus the risk of them getting into a dogfight is just not worth it.”

“They’re essential. They’re an extension of any other team that we have,” Officer Dennis Koczara said. He described the K-9 unit as invaluable, especially when locating missing people. The Southfield canines are trained to locate human odors in the last place a person was seen and to follow their scent trail until they are found. The dogs play a useful role in aiding police to locate missing people, including lost children and people with cognitive impairments. The police canines also track suspects who have committed crimes and fled on foot, aid in article searches to locate evidence, and conduct building/area searches where a suspect may be concealed, making it dangerous for an officer to enter.

Koczara has been Bliksem’s handler since he was 11 months old. The Dutch shepherd is now 7 years old and serves as a dual-purpose narcotics patrol dog, one of the few left in the state that can sniff out marijuana.

“I’ve been a police officer for 23 years. And when you get in the canine unit, for me at least, it rejuvenated me, because anything else you get stale. If you stay in one position for too long, you get bored. It’s natural. It’s the same thing, repetition, every day. But I threw him into the mix and he rejuvenated me. I get out more and do more,” Koczara said.