Prince William police dog goes on last patrol

Draco, the canine half of Prince William police K-9 Unit 425, worked his last shift Wednesday night.

After nine and a half years, Draco is free to do as he pleases.

Master Police Officer Kevin Jennings, Draco’s handler and the other half of the team, said that in his retirement Draco would probably do a lot of “laying around the backyard.”

“He’ll be a family pet,” Jennings said of Draco, who will continue to live with the family.

Taking it easy might be a little hard for the 11-year-old, Czech-born German shepherd who likes to go out on patrol.

“When I start to put my uniform on and he can hear me or see me, he starts getting excited,” Jennings said. “He knows that once he gets in this car, it’s all work.”

Draco has been with Jennings as long as Jennings has been a K-9 officer.

Jennings said he can’t remember a bad shift spent with Draco searching school lockers, backing up patrol officers, conducting street searches, tracking lost people or crime suspects and searching cars for drugs. But one good night, somewhere around 2002, stands out.

“The best one was when we found a 5-year-old that wandered away from his house down on Lucasville,” said Jennings, who patrols the west end of the county with Draco. “We found him down by the river just walking with his dog. He’d been gone for several hours.”

Dogs in K-9 units usually have a career that spans about eight years, Jennings said.

Draco stayed on the job a little while longer because he remained in good health and the county budget precluded the purchase of any new dogs, which can cost as much as $6,500.

Jennings, who spent 12 years on patrol and four years on the vice-narcotics unit, found he enjoyed the night shift and K-9 work once he started with Draco, whose favorite treat is French fries.

“I’ve always had dogs, and I thought I’d give it a try and fell in love with it,” Jennings said of his work on the streets with Draco.

Over the years dogs and handlers come to rely on each other, and Jennings said he could count on Draco’s proficiency in any of his jobs, including tracking suspects and keeping him safe.

“He’s been a good dog,” Jennings said. “He’s very reliable.”

On Monday, Jennings will start 16 weeks of training with Diesel, Draco’s replacement.

“It’ll be just another day with a new dog and trying to wean off of Draco,” the 45-year-old Jennings said. “Hopefully he’ll listen like Draco.”

While Jennings has faith that Diesel will eventually be a good police dog, Draco will always be special.

“He won’t be replaced because he’s my first one. You can’t replace your first one,” Jennings said.

Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.