By Jordan Studer

Earlier this year, Bucyrus Police Officer Chris Hulsmeyer became the new handler of the police department’s K-9 officer, Rosco. When Rosco’s previous handler, Officer Rowland, took a position elsewhere, Hulsmeyer was happy to step in.

Rosco, a 3 ½ year old Belgian Malinois, has been with the Bucyrus Police Department for almost three years. Rosco is trained in apprehension tracking, article searches, and area searches. According to the BPD 2016 Annual Report, Rosco’s skill set helped him seize 69 doses of heroin and 67 doses of illicit prescription medication.

When Officer Rowland was Rosco’s handler, Hulsmeyer said he was able to be around Rosco quite a bit. According to Hulsmeyer, since Rosco had been exposed to him so much, the transition between Rowland and Hulsmeyer was very easy.

Hulsmeyer said that the biggest transition for Rosco was adjusting to living in a new home with new water. Hulsmeyer began training with Rosco on April 12 and became certified on May 11. Though Rosco has been trained, Hulsmeyer needed to go through a four-week course to become certified to handle Rosco.

Hulsmeyer explained that the whole focus was to be able to read Rosco to the best of his ability. Hulsmeyer claimed that training provided ample time for him to learn exactly how Rosco ticked.

“It (training) was me getting to the point where I can read him, read his actions, and basically just follow it. If I have him out, say we’re searching for somebody… I got to be able to see a change in the tail wag, his ears pop, his head pop, and notice when he switches from a mouth breathe to a nose breathe,” Hulsmeyer described.

After learning and observing how Rosco reacted to different situations, Hulsmeyer said he learned to just follow him.

“Once he gets that change in behavior, you just got to let him go where he wants to go. It’s a dog’s natural response to be curious about a new odor and new smell, so you just got to let him go figure that odor out. Satisfy his curiosity,” Hulsmeyer said.

Although Hulsmeyer is now certified through the state to be Rosco’s handler, his training is not over. He said that in order to keep his certification as a K-9 handler, he must complete at least sixteen hours of training each month.

From obedience, to narcotics, to tracking, to apprehensions, Hulsmeyer works on everything that Rosco is trained in. During training, Hulsmeyer also had to learn how to command Rosco, as all of his commands are in Dutch. By having Rosco respond to Dutch commands, not just anyone can control him.

When asking Hulsmeyer what a typical day for he and Rosco include, he is quick to respond.

“Hairy and slobbery,” Hulsmeyer jokes.

Despite the extra fur and slobber in Hulsmeyer’s police car, he said that his day is basically like the rest of his fellow officers.

“I don’t do anything different than any of the other guys. The only difference is I have him. I may work more on concentrating on drugs, because that’s what he’s for. But when it comes to call load and stuff like that, I still take calls just like the rest of the guys. I make just as many traffic stops as the rest of the guys,” Hulsmeyer explains.

As Rosco sat calmly at the feet of Officer Hulsmeyer, their owner-pet bond was evident. Hulsmeyer commented on how lucky he felt as a handler to have a K-9 that was already so well trained and equipped before he took over.

“It was a lot easier for me. He leads the way, all I’ve got to do is follow him,” Hulsmeyer said.