The Life of a K9 Officer with Travis Harrison and K9 Van

In this episode of the Cape CopCast, step into the life of K9 Officer Travis Harrison and his remarkable K9 partner, Van. Discover firsthand how Travis evolved from a professional baseball player, to working in real estate, to a patrol officer, to now a dedicated K9 handler.

Officer Harrison sits down with hosts Lisa Greenberg and Officer Mercedes Simonds to talk about the rigorous yet fascinating process of selecting and training police dogs, and the the intricate balance required to maintain Van's professional discipline in a loving home environment. 

Officer Harrison talks about bringing Van home for the first and how he got his name (a nod to our  Deputy Chief!). He also shares how he keeps up with the high-energy German Shepherd. Gain unique insights into the life of a K9 Officer, including the stark differences between working dogs and personal pets, and the rewarding yet demanding nature of the role. Through the lens of Officer Harrison's multifaceted career path, we explore the unexpected ways his previous experiences have influenced his approach to police work.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:04

Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Cop cast. I'm Lisa Greenberg, I'm one of your hosts and I'm Officer Mercedes Simons.

Speaker 2 0:11

Together we make up the Public Affairs Office. We have a very special guest today. Very, we have Canine Van on the podcast with us. What's up, dog?

Speaker 1 0:22

I really am interested in what a day in your life is like. I really am interested in what a day in your life is like.

Speaker 2 0:28

Well, I guess he's all bark and no bite today.

Speaker 1 0:31

Yeah, let's go ahead and bring in his dad. Today we have canine officer Travis Harrison with us. How long have you been paired with, van?

Speaker 3 0:39

I got him just over a year ago now. Yeah, it's been great. He's a handful, but I enjoy every second of it.

Speaker 2 0:50

That's awesome. How does the process work? Like are they? Do you get them when they're?

Speaker 3 0:52

babies, or how old do you usually get them? Yeah, so that depends. And so you kind of go out and you scout dogs. So we have different places in Florida that you know we'll go and put dogs through tests and see which ones we want. Uh, when we got Van, I think he was about 14 months old, something like that, but it was obvious in the six or eight dogs that we were looking at he was the one that stood out and he was the best, and so if you want that dog, you buy the dog there and he comes home to you and he stayed the night at my house the first night and that's kind of how it goes. And so it's a little intimidating, especially for me because I'm a first time handler, but he's been great.

Speaker 1 1:28

I have to know what it's like to essentially bring this dog home with you every night. This dog is like an extension of you once it becomes yours.

Speaker 3 1:38

What is that like? Yeah, you like to think he takes on your personality, but they have their own personalities as well, right? So it was pretty obvious once I got him he was full speed. He was big, he was full speed and it was going to be up to me to, like, control him.

Speaker 2 1:51

um, but I've loved that and um, so far, so good does he get along with your kids and everything like your family? Has he integrated or does he kind of have like a separate work life?

Speaker 3 2:03

even at home it's still still pretty separate. I mean, obviously we train the dogs to apprehend people right, and so what we don't want is for them to get super comfortable at home. I mean, he has a great life, don't get me wrong, but we don't want him laying on the couch and not wanting him to come to work, and so at home he sleeps in my room with me, he sleeps next to me on the bed, but he's in his crate. So I take him out a bunch of times throughout the day but he goes right back into his crate. So the kids, their interactions, are like you have a milk bone and they'll throw it into the crate. That's kind of fun. But he gets along great with my other dog and so they can play together, but with the kids it's just, they just stay separate.

Speaker 1 2:43

That's so interesting to me. So before you were a canine officer, were you on patrol?

Speaker 3 2:48

I was on patrol. I was on patrol for about two years or so. I started in 21. I worked Charlie night shift for about two years. I always loved working with the canine guys that were on my shift and so when the tryout came up, I put my name in and tried out and was lucky enough to get it. So super lucky, super happy that I'm doing what I'm doing now.

Speaker 2 3:08

Was that something that you always wanted to do? Or did that just kind of pop up and you're like, hey, I like hunting for drugs. I think I'd be a good fit with this.

Speaker 3 3:16

It wasn't something I started that I wanted to do. I didn't really know I when I first started. It was just I wanted to be a good cop. I wanted to be a night shift cop, that's all I cared about and so I wanted to catch bad guys. I wanted to help people that needed help, just like the regular stuff that patrol does. But then you start going to some priority calls with the K-9 guys and we were lucky enough to have good K-9 guys on my shift and so you start seeing what they do and you're like that's pretty cool. You know so. Instead of you know, for example, like take taking a perimeter spot and someone's running and the canine guys get to go run after them. I'm like I'm faster than them. I should be the one running after me. You know so, like it's, it's something to strive for, to want to do, and when that spot opened up, I definitely wanted it.

Speaker 1 4:02

That's awesome.

Speaker 3 4:03

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:03

I heard low-key that you're actually kind of one of the fastest runners on the department. Can you confirm or deny?

Speaker 3 4:11

I haven't raced too many people. And can you keep up with your dog? No, I cannot. Well, so I can keep up with most humans. The first time I sent Van after somebody I thought it would be like you know he's pulling away from me a little bit but, no, it was like and he's gone. He's probably twice as fast as I am, so, uh, it's something to get used to. But uh, yeah, me and van, we like running after people for sure.

Speaker 1 4:32

That's awesome. Yeah, I'm curious if you weren't sitting here doing this podcast. Obviously, what's like a day in your life with a canine Like?

Speaker 3 4:41

I got two great kids at home and a beautiful wife and so they go to. They go to school and so I like to take them to school. You know 6.30, I wake up, take van out and let them run around or take them on a walk, something like that, and then put them in, take the kids to school, come back Sooner, they get back, take them out again and that's usually like a long walk and then like some obedience training stuff, like that kind of some basic stuff. Let him go to the bathroom again and then maybe do some stuff around the house. I love playing golf, so if I can get out to the driving range, I'll try to sneak out to the driving range and then another session with Van, I'll try to take a you know, an hour, two hour nap, something like that, and then straight into work.

Speaker 1 5:18

Your shift starts at five.

Speaker 3 5:19

Yeah, I started five go to two. Things happen. But yeah, and then I get home and then he eats again, and then we do it all again the next day.

Speaker 2 5:33

So you get like four hours of sleep.

Speaker 3 5:36

It's terrible. Yeah, I'll get about four hours and then I'll take a nap during the day, so it's really not that bad.

Speaker 1 5:41

It's kind of a price you pay to work the night shift, which is what you wanted, plus have kids and be involved. So you know, sometimes sleep goes on the back burner. I get it. I think also people think of canine and they think of the dog sniffing around for the drugs and all that. But there is so much more to it than that. What other things do you guys utilize canines for?

Speaker 3 6:03

Well, on the road I try to use them for as many things as I can, because he's way more talented than I am. So you know he's usually he's usually right and I'm usually wrong. It's kind of how it works, right? So it could be things like um article searches, someone dropped something in the middle of field I will never find that. People find it almost right away. Um area searches obviously tracks, and so we'll track different kind of people, right. So we'll track a bad guy, that guy that ran, and we'll track a kid that ran away, you know, in the middle of the night from home. That isn't maybe going very fast, that is just lost. And obviously the drug stuff. That's a big part of what we do and that's an important part of what we do.

Speaker 2 6:41

We can use them for crowd control, that kind of thing, because people are more scared of the dog than they are of just about anything else, and so usually the dog works yeah, the fear that dogs and getting bit and still into so many people is just kind of amazing to see how quickly people surrender because, like you say you're going to get tased, they keep doing whatever they're doing, but if you say you're going to get bit, they stop.

Speaker 3 7:05

Oh yeah and they'll do crazy things if they know they're going to get bit. So I've had I've only been, I've been in the unit for a year but only been like a certified trainer for like seven months I've had three people. Uh, we've tracked them and they were. It was like it was either the dog or the water and they've all jumped in the water. So they're choosing the alligators over my dog and I'm like that's pretty cool, but at the same time sometimes I wish they wouldn't. But that's just the power of the dog, right, and it's fair. They should be probably. Yeah for sure.

Speaker 2 7:33

I mean, I've been around Van and even I'm like he's not the one that is like okay, let me come over and snuggle with you and pet.

Speaker 3 7:46

No, he's not even that way with me. Oh, okay, I mean, he's nice you know, I like to think he loves me, but he has his own way of showing it. Yeah, he's just, he's always high speed.

Speaker 2 7:56

so At least he's loyal, he's ready to work.

Speaker 1 7:59

Yes, we love that quality, we love a work ethic.

Speaker 3 8:02

Yes, I'm like oh man, it's. You know it's going to leave a mark it stinks.

Speaker 1 8:13

One of the other things too. What were you doing before working for the Cape Coral Police Department?

Speaker 3 8:18

So I'm from Southern California. I moved to Southwest Florida in 2011. I played for the Minnesota Twins organization for like six or seven years and then, once they finally fired me doing that, I did some real estate you know things and then I just decided that I want to do something fun again and it was just random. I was like I want to be a cop, let's see how this goes. And then signed up, did the oral board and stuff here and they sent me to the police academy. And here I am. I love it.

Speaker 2 8:52

What drew you in and is that why you run so fast?

K-9 Officer's Career and Canine Partners

Speaker 3 8:56

I don't run as fast anymore, but I don't know exactly what drew me into being a cop. I guess when I was not doing much and I was doing the real estate thing, it just wasn't my speed. I wanted more action, I wanted a little more fun and that kind of thing, and wasn't my speed I wanted. I wanted more action, I wanted like a little more fun and that kind of thing, and so I gave it a shot and it's worked out so far.

Speaker 1 9:12

What position did you play in baseball?

Speaker 3 9:15

it's a lot of them yeah um, that's what happens when you're not very good hey I'm sure you're better than you give yourself credit for yeah so I played third base, played left field, I played right field, played center field, played first base, you know, so I I played. I played a bunch of different ones, but I would say mostly, uh, third base and left field yeah it hits home what's that? Nothing, oh boy, I missed it.

Speaker 2 9:38

I said it loves her puns but um boom gotcha.

Speaker 1 9:44

That's awesome. Okay, so from from baseball, the real estate, to police work, and now you're a canine officer. What's next?

Speaker 3 9:52

Canine officer? I don't see. I mean that's now. That could obviously change, but I don't see me doing anything other than canine kind of what I want to do. I enjoy, you know, being out there and like being. You know, being the first that calls being the guy that catches the guy. I want to be the guy that makes the decisions on the spot and like handles it. I enjoy that. My answer could be different. People tell me all the time my answers probably will be different in a couple of years, but as of right now I don't see me doing anything other than, hopefully, what I'm doing now.

Speaker 2 10:19

That's awesome, yeah, I mean, you're probably committed to the working lifespan of the dog and then they retire with you, right, but then do you have the option of getting another dog, or is that kind of like the transition period of you decide, once your dog is done working whenever it comes to that for whatever reason to either get another dog or move on to a different spot?

Speaker 3 10:42

Yeah, I would say, obviously that's not my call to make, but I would guess that if you do a really good job with your first dog, then and the and the unit still wants you, and the sergeant still wants you and all that then you'll you'll get another opportunity to get another dog, and so that's my plan, just to to keep going and see where it takes me. But yeah, that's kind of how it works. I mean, I'm sure if after the first one, if you're like this was not what I was signing up for and I want to start sleeping and, yeah, I have no interest in doing that.

Speaker 1 11:14

Who needs sleep. Right, and it's interesting too, because I think people probably think that whoever decides to become a K-9 officer must be like a dog person, but these aren't really dogs in the typical sense.

Speaker 3 11:26

No, I'll be in the neighborhood or something like walking them, and I'm like being careful. You know, someone will come up to me. Oh, I had a German Shepherd, you know, and it's like I know what they're like. They, you know, and it's like I, I know what they're like. They're crazy. I'm like, and so you're being nice, like yeah, okay I get it.

Speaker 1 11:41

I'm like you guys have no idea.

Speaker 3 11:43

No, this is not that.

Speaker 1 11:43

Uh, it's like completely different right, this isn't gonna give you kisses and cuddle no, no.

Speaker 3 11:48

So yeah, I mean I have another, uh, golden retriever at the house and she's kind of like a little overweight, fat golden retriever and she's great.

Speaker 2 11:55

It's like the complete opposite of this animal just for the people who want to know van is a is a german shepherd right that's what they tell me.

Speaker 3 12:05

I still don't believe it.

Speaker 2 12:07

He's huge yeah like part bear. Is that the other? I think so. It might be like wild animal part moose, part part german shepherd.

Speaker 3 12:15

Uh yeah, he has a really big head and he's really big. But that's what I wanted, like if I'm going to do it, like, give me the biggest, baddest dog I can get and let's go do it. You know, and he looks more intimidating than he is with me.

Speaker 2 12:31

With you.

Speaker 3 12:33

Yeah, he's not too bad.

Speaker 1 12:35

You guys are best friends.

Speaker 3 12:37

I like to think so yeah, he's not too bad, you guys are best friends. I like to think so yeah, and he'll let me someone not in a sleeve, in a suit, that's like that's the best reward for him, and I want to. You know, that's what you want. You want to keep it that way. Um, but he gets rewarded with tugs, treats if we're doing like tracking, training, stuff like that are there any other fun facts before we uh go shop?

Speaker 3 13:11

so my dog's name is canine van and people always ask, like, why is your dog named van? So he's actually named after deputy chief phil van landshut, and so obviously he's retiring soon, so there's probably not a whole lot of people that put those together.

Speaker 2 13:25

But I didn't that's.

Speaker 3 13:27

Yeah, that's who he's named after. So, deputy chief, when he's done, at least there'll be a dog named after him still working, hopefully. So that'd be cool, that's awesome, I had no idea.

Speaker 1 13:36

Did you pick the name or did someone else pick the name?

Speaker 3 13:39

no, uh, sergeant drosso did, because they get like some government name, like, for example, uh vans from hungary, and then so you can name them, and then, as soon as we picked them up, put them in the back of the truck. Uh, on the way home, you know, sergeant drosso texted me. He said you know, congratulations, whatever, your dog's gonna be named van named after deputy chief. So awesome.

Speaker 1 13:56

Yeah, anything else you can think of.

Speaker 3 13:58

I don't think so. Guys, Thanks for what you're doing. This is fun. That was great Thank you so much for coming on.

Speaker 1 14:02

We appreciate you, of course. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next time. Take care, stay safe.