Salem K-9 officers replace retiring brethren after marijuana law change

The Salem Police Department announced in August that its first two K-9 officers Simon and Argo, who have served the department since 2016 and 2017, respectively, would be taking an early retirement following the legalization of cannabis for adult use in Ohio as both were trained to identify the presence of marijuana. Salem Police Sgt. Mike Garber, who served as the handler for K-9 Simon, said that were it not for the legalization of cannabis Simon and Argo both could have served for ten years, which would have represented a further two years of service for Simon, and three more for Argo.

“Both of them could have done 10 years of service but Simon is being cut off at eight years, and Argo at seven years,” said Garber.

Both Simon and Argo, who are 9 and a half, and 9 years old, respectively, are set to remain with their current handlers throughout their retirement, and while their official retirement dates aren’t set until Dec. 3 Garber said they were already effectively in retirement now their successor were fully certified.

They are being succeeded by K-9 Chaz who will be partnered with Garber and K-9 Fero who will be paired with Patrolman Steve LaRosa. Garber said that Chaz and Fero were trained as “three odor dogs,” meaning that they are trained to identify heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and their derivatives.

K-9 Chaz was administered his oath of office Wednesday by Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey, right, and will succeed the department’s first K-9 officer Simon as Sgt. Mike Garber’s partner ahead of Simon’s early retirement as a result of the legalization of Cannabis in Ohio. Chaz is a Belgian Malinois, German Sheperd mix and is a year and nine months old and has been serving his community with Garber Since Nov. 1. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)

“We made the switch early to get ahead of any upcoming legislation and so we could have dogs certified on just illegal substances and not legal substances,” said Garber.

Chaz and Fero are both Belgian Malinois, German Sheperd mixes, and are roughly a year and nine months, and a year and a half old respectively, and came at a cost of $10,000 each. That price does not include the roughly $7,000 cost of training, which was donated by the Vaness K9 Training Facility in Canton. While the Ohio legislature floated the idea of providing funds for department that had to replace their K-9s following the legalization of cannabis in the state in House Bill 396 in February, but no funding has yet resulted from those discussion following its first hearing on May 8.

Garber joked that Chaz and Simon were opposites in personality, as Simon was very active and hyper while in the cruiser but very quiet while working, while Chaz is quiet in the cruiser but very energetic while working.

“When Chaz is working, he’s very boisterous, but when Simon was working, he never made a sound,” said Garber.

Garber thanked the community for their continued support for the K-9 unit, which is entirely funded through donations, grants, and the unit’s annual fundraising efforts such as the annual K-9 Gold Outing.

“We’ve always been very fortunate to have such a supporting community and none of this would be possible without them,” said Garber.

While their swearing in ceremony was held Wednesday Chaz and Ferro have been doing their part to protect Salem and its surrounding communities from drugs since Nov. 1, with Chaz being deployed and alerting to narcotics for his first felony stop on Nov. 16.

Garber said that being a K-9 handler was “the best job in the world,” noting that having a K-9 partner who you know will “always have your back,” makes difficult situations easier. Garber also said that while there is a learning curve for a new K-9, they are significant force multipliers not only for the department, but partner law enforcement entities which call on Salem’s K-9s for assistance like the Mahoning Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force.