Police dog delights kids, finds illegal substances
Berl Tiskus
Llop finds the box containing training drugs hidden by his handler Officer Juan Maso.
Berl Tiskus
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal Polson Police Chief Wade Nash stands with Llop as Officer Maso hides contraband for the dog to find.
Berl Tiskus
Llop and handler Officer Juan Maso, left front, visit with a group of second graders. Tim Lake, back left, board member for Northwest Farm Credit Services, stands next to Joey Hennes, manager for Northwest Farm Credit Services, Missoula, who presented Polson Police Chief Wade Nash with grant money for Llop’s care and feeding.
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POLSON — One of Polson’s newest police officers is also one of the furriest. His name is Llop (pronounced Yop), and he’s a 2 1/2-year-old Dutch Shepherd. Llop means wolf in Catalonian.
Polson Police K-9 Officer Juan Maso is Llop’s handler, trainer and best buddy.
On June 12, Maso put Llop through his paces for a group of second graders from Linderman Elementary School. Maso hid a training or synthetic drug in a cardboard box and then put it down among other boxes on the grass at Riverside Park. Sure enough, Llop’s extra special nose sniffed the drug right out. He also can smell around the perimeter of a car, even with the doors and trunk closed, and detect any whiff of drugs.
The four main drugs the Polson police department uses Llop to search for are marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.
When he scents an illegal substance, Llop scratches with his front feet.
Llop knows if he finds the illegal substances then he gets to play.
“He loves to play,” Maso said, throwing a large rubber toy for Llop to fetch.
The dark brown dog also helps law enforcement look for people who are lost or who have wandered away from their homes.
Llop was involved in the manhunt in the Mission Mountains when officers were searching for suspected killer Harry Lozeau.
Polson Police Chief Wade Nash said searchers requested Llop’s assistance, although the terrain and the weather hindered Llop.
To help pay for Llop’s care and training, Tim Lake, who’s on the advisory board for Northwest Farm Credit Services, saw and need wrote a grant to the organization and secured $2,000 for living expenses and training for Llop.
Joey Hennes, manager of Northwest Farm Credit Services in Missoula, was on hand to watch the demonstration and give the check to Nash.
