'Too much dog:' K-9 Fred's gotta go, second Coast agency decides

Fred has been fired. Again.

Fred is smart, energetic, loyal and obedient K-9. But sometimes, Fred flips out.

He's torn up an air-conditioning unit, a computer bag, a coke can and other inanimate objects while on duty with his partner, K-9 Deputy Chris Allen.

The Harrison County Sheriff's Office decided after the most recent harrowing incident that Fred was a danger to its officers and the public. At Sheriff Troy Peterson's request, the county Board of Supervisors agreed Monday to declare Fred surplus property, which clears the way for his next assignment, whatever that may be.

"I am a huge dog owner and want the best for Fred," the sheriff said Monday. "My problem is liability. If he bites our handlers and his attention cannot stay on the duties he needs to perform, we can't maintain him."

Peterson estimates his department has sunk $30,000 to $40,000 in Fred and his training.

The Gulfport City Council declared Fred surplus property a couple of years ago. At the time, Police Chief Leonard Papania described Fred as "distracted," but it's a little more serious than that.

From Gulfport, Fred the Belgian Malinois returned to his training school, US K-9 Unlimited in Kaplan, La., for remedial work. By all accounts, the school is one of the best. Its owner, Roger Abshire, is admired far and wide for the fine K-9s he turns out. Harrison County's K-9 unit said they would take on Fred once he retrained.

And so they did, said Sgt. Danny Gilkerson, who heads the K-9 unit. Fred has been with two different handlers, most recently K-9 Deputy Allen. Fred was Allen's first dog, so there's a sentimental attachment. They have trained together at the K-9 school. Allen took Fred home a few times. The 80-pound pooch tried to hog the bed. "He's a big Teddy bear," Allen said, "he really is."

Bonding is intense between K-9s and their handlers. The human-dog teams train, train, train. The officers give their dogs commands in Dutch. That way, the bad guys are unable to understand and bark commands at the dogs.

As a patrol K-9, Fred is trained in apprehension, narcotics, tracking and personal protection.

He does fine in training. But he sometimes goes haywire during actual building and area searches.

"I don't know how he knows the difference between training and the real world," Gilkerson said. "But he does. He's smart. But he flips a switch and he goes into Fred World."

Here's what Fred World is like.

Soon after they partnered up, Allen and Fred were doing a perimeter patrol one night at Pineville Elementary School in Pass Christian. Fred attacked the electrical wire on an air conditioning unit, then pulled the unit off its slab. Fred is strong.

"It scared the crap out of me," Allen said. "He actually grabbed a hold of the air conditioner and started yanking it around. I was like, 'Here we go.'"

Once Fred grabs something, he doesn't want to let go.

The patient K-9 officers kept trying. You don't become a K-9 officer unless you love dogs, and Fred is quiet a dog. He's from the Netherlands, bred and born to work.

The last straw came about month ago. A call went out about a burglary. Gilkerson had just left work, but was nearest the scene. He didn't have his dog with him. He secured the perimeter and waited for Allen to arrive with Fred. A window had been broken. The officers did not know whether the suspect was in the house.

Allen and Fred went in. The K-9 unit goes into these situations because the officers would rather stop the suspect with a dog than a gun.

Fred did fine on the first floor. No burglar. Allen and Fred ascended the stairs. They cleared the first room. And then Fred lost it. He turned and gripped Allen's arm in a bear hug. Allen had to stiff-arm Fred, maneuver the K-9 between his legs, hold his collar and walk him out.

"If you don't do that," Allen explained, "he spins real bad."

That was that. Fred has been at the kennel for the last month. He gets plenty of time to play outside. He is an endearing dog. When he alerts on a toy Allen holds up, Fred cocks one of his long, pointed ears while the other flops to the side.

Gilkerson is hoping Fred can be placed with another K-9 unit as a narcotics dog. "He's jam up on narcotics," Allen said. Unfortunately, Harrison County already has its quota of narcotics dogs. Peterson is hoping to find a small department that can use Fred.

Allen has a theory about Fred's problem, but it's just a theory. "He gets in a zone, and if he doesn't get results as soon as he wants, he gets frustrated," Allen said.

Whatever happens, this isn't the end for Fred.

"My mom calls every day asking if she can have him," Allen said. "I say, 'That's too much dog for you.' "

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 10:42 AM with the headline "'Too much dog:' K-9 Fred's gotta go, second Coast agency decides ."