BY MARLA BALLARD

REPORTER

bamabell62@gmail.com

DEKALB COUNTY, ALA. – When Officer Josh Wigley talks about his “Shadow” he is referring to his K-9 partner on the police force. Wigley has been an officer since 2009 but has only had the K-9 Labradoodle for 15 months. Shadow came to live with Wigley at eight weeks of age.

Shadow, like many of the canines in the Sherriff’s Department, came from Pineapple Farm Kennels in Boaz, they have a long history of providing service dogs. Shadow meets with certified trainer, Micah McCleary, once each week for ongoing training. Wigley said he learns alongside Shadow during training and uses the following days to continue reinforcing newly learned behaviors.

The DeKalb County Sherriff’s office has several K-9 dogs for various reasons. Some of the police dogs serve for drug detection, but the plan for Shadow is to be trained to be a search and rescue dog. Search and rescue dogs are used, in part, to assist in finding senior citizens, small children, or special needs individuals who have wandered off and become lost.

Currently, Wigley is assigned as a School Resource Officer and finds that having Shadow with him on the job is a comfort to the young people at the school where he serves. “Just spending some time with Shadow has proven to be a huge benefit to children who are going through difficult situations,” said Wigley. “We have taken Shadow into the counselor’s office on occasion when the counselor is trying to help a child dealing with a problem.”

Wigley said the combination of the Poodle with the Labrador Retriever produces a smart dog along with a relaxed, friendly demeanor. Shadow lives a well-rounded life with the Wigley family and their other dogs.

According to dogsforlawenforcement.org, “Dogs have been used by law enforcement agencies for over 100 years. The English used bloodhounds while searching for Jack the Ripper in 1888, and during that time they allowed canines to accompany bobbies on patrol. In 1889, in Ghent, Belgium, police started formally training dogs for police work. By 1910, Germany had police dogs in over 600 of its largest cities. In 1938, South London introduced two specially trained Labrador Retrievers to the Metropolitan Police Force to accompany bobbies on patrol.  In the 1970s the use of dogs in law enforcement took a foothold in the United States. Now they are considered a part of the police force, and in many departments, they even have their own badges.”