The Iowa State University Police Department’s newest member underwent his first big test while on the job this past weekend — scouting out and monitoring Jack Trice Stadium during country singer Luke Combs’ concert.
Zak, a 2-year-old Belgian shepherd, has been on the ISU campus for less than a month but has settled into his work as an explosives detection and tracking dog with ease, his handler, ISU Officer Solomon Farner, said.
“I think the first day was a little goofy, just because he, being from Poland and then coming to Texas and then Iowa, it’s all very different for him. But since he’s been back, he’s been awesome,” Farner said. “I mean, he’s really comfortable on campus, which has been great. He’s able to work anywhere — I haven’t put him in a place where he hasn’t been able to succeed.”
Pacesetter K-9, the company the department worked with to find and train Zak, purchased him from a breeder in Poland and already had him trained on detecting odors relating to the creation of explosive devices by the time Farner showed up in Texas for his five weeks of training.
The training was more for Farner than Zak, he said, as he needed to learn how to read Zak’s changes in behavior and recognize when he’s found something, as well as the cues that they both send each other, knowingly or unknowingly.
“I’ve said before, he’s 90% of the work, I’m 10%,” Farner said. “My 10% is to guide him in the right areas, but let him do all the work that he needs to do.”
The company selected Zak for the university based on the attributes Farner said they were looking for — a good nose, a calm demeanor and the ability to work for a long time. While K-9 units for police departments outside of universities might be checking cars or houses as part of their work, Farner said Zak needs to be able to go through large event spaces with many people around.
Farner pitched the idea that eventually brought him and Zak together, but department chief Michael Newton said having a K-9 unit on campus is something he’s been interested in since he came to ISU in 2017.
While the ISU police department has multiple therapy dogs, Newton said Zak is the agency’s first working dog for law enforcement.
“We have all these special events on campus, we have football, we have basketball … we’re bringing in dignitaries from presidential visits on to other just important folks that you want to make sure are safe,” Newton said. “We want to make sure everyone’s safe.”
Entities like the Johnston Police Department and State Fire Marshal’s Office have allowed ISU to rent their law enforcement dogs for large events in the past, Newton said, and the university will continue to ask for their aid when the job is too big for Zak to handle himself. However, now other departments can also turn to ISU when they need the services of a law enforcement canine.
Eventually, Newton said he’d like to have as many as three law enforcement dogs working in the department, but for now they’re still making sure Zak is settling in fine.
Beyond his ability to sniff out explosives, Newton said Zak can also track people, like suspects or missing students or residents. The department hopes to be able to have Zak work for as long as the next decade, Farner said, before he needs to hang up his law enforcement leash. Zak has already been checked out by the ISU veterinary program, and he was given a clean bill of health.
Farner said his new canine partner always has energy. Farner keeps a dog toy with him and Zak lunges for it the moment he sees it. At home, Zak keeps moving, zooming in circles outside and rarely slowing down.
“He just has so much energy, I would say he just loves to play, just like any other dog,” Farner said. “He loves to tug, he loves to chase things, stuff like that.”
