Second dog in Dunkirk

DUNKIRK - Council president Chuck Rife staged a brief one-man, sit-in near the front door of the city police station Wednesday morning, seeking answers to questions about the department's new canine unit.

Or should that be canines?

Rife said he was told earlier in the week that the city is now training a second police dog in addition to 14-month-old Boyca, the dog that was donated last month to the Dunkirk department by the U.S. Air Force.

Rife, who says he is upset by the apparent secrecy from police officials and mayor Ron Hunt, only had to wait about a half hour before getting a meeting with police chief Dane Mumbower.

The council president said he was especially surprised to hear the news about the second dog, as he talked to Mayor Ron Hunt at the conclusion of Monday night's city council meeting. Rife said the mayor told him the dog-training program was "going fine."

On Tuesday, Rife began trying to contact Police Chief Dane Mumbower by telephone and e-mail to get some questions answered, to no avail. The chief did not return any calls or e-mail messages, and Rife said he began to grow impatient.

Mumbower was not present at Monday's council session when Rife spoke to the mayor.

"I'm tired of secrecy," Rife said Wednesday morning.

Consequently, as his messages continued to go unanswered, the council president decided to visit the police station personally.

Rife was told the chief was on patrol in the city's new black SUV, so the council president set up a folding chair on the sidewalk in front of the station, took out some reading material and waited.

"I intend to sit here until he (Mumbower) arrives," Rife said late Wednesday morning.

"I just want to know some truth. I don't understand secrecy and that upsets me," Rife said.

After waiting more than half an hour, the chief pulled up to the curb in his unmarked police vehicle. Mumbower agreed to meet with Rife in in his office to discuss the status of the canine unit.

More than an hour later, Rife emerged from that meeting to report that the department is currently in the process of trying to train two dogs to sniff for illegal narcotics as well as perform other duties. Apparently, police were not initially satisfied with Boyca's progress so another dog is being given a try-out as well, Rife said.

Both dogs are currently being kept at the home of Patrolman Bobby Johnson, the department's designated dog handler, during this training process, Rife explained.

Johnson, the son-in-law of mayor Hunt, has been participating in a police dog handler's training class the past several weeks in Delaware County.

Immediately following the meeting with Mumbower, Rife said, "I'm not a passive person. I decided to sit there (in the folding chair on the sidewalk) until somebody talked to me."

However, when Mumbower was asked about the second police dog following his hour-long meeting with Rife, the chief's only comment was: "No comment."

Mumbower said he considered his talk with Rife to be a "private conversation," and then added that he expected the topic will be brought up at the Dunkirk Board of Public Works and Safety meeting Monday at 5 p.m.

The members of that board include Mayor Hunt and council members Eric Bowler and Judy Garr. Rife is not on that board, it is a public meeting.

When contacted about the issue on Wednesday, the mayor said that Boyca is being trained with other dogs and two or three more weeks of training remains.

The mayor emphasized that it was the city's goal to only have one dog on the Dunkirk police force, but whether or not it would be Boyca, depended on the training program. "If she doesn't work out, we'll go further," Hunt said.

Boyca is continuing with her training, but if another dog appears to be doing a better job - a switch could be made, Hunt explained. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Rife said he was told by Mumbower that the second dog was obtained at no cost as a result of a previous offer, first introduced at a city council meeting in February by local resident and professional dog trainer Jim Bob McEwen. The dog came from the Tom Rose School, a dog training institution for more than 35 years, located near St. Louis, Mo.

McEwen said Wednesday evening he had originally suggested getting a dog from the Tom Rose School at a council meeting in February, but never had further contact on the matter from city officials. McEwen said he assumed that dog, a Dutch shepherd, had been sold to someone else. McEwen said he understood that police officials might have encountered problems in training Boyca, as it was still a puppy. He said that an 18-month-old dog is the equivalent of a 10-year-old human.

Rife said there are other questions remaining to be answered at Monday's safety board meeting, such as who is paying to feed the second dog and is the city paying to train two dogs or one dog?

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