Jennifer Kern
Staff Writer

The month of September was quite busy for Matrix, the Forest Lake Police Department's new service dog.

He and Officer Mark Richert make up the department's K-9 unit. After arriving in Forest Lake at the end of August, Matrix has already played a key role in three main incidents for the department.

A three year-old purebred German Shepherd from the Czech Republic, Matrix has taken part in two tracks and a narcotics search.

One of those involved a stolen vehicle incident. Though the suspect was not found, Richert said Matrix tracked up to the point where police believe the suspect was picked up by a vehicle and no longer traveling on foot. "He tracked him very well, over a number of streets," recalled Richert.

Group effort

Prior to Matrix's arrival to Forest Lake, much work was done by the police department and community to bring a police dog to the area. "It was a six month ordeal before we actually got the dog," Richert noted.

Residents, non-profit groups and businesses supplied monetary donations for Matrix and his training. Many officers trained for the police dog's arrival and Richert, who has worked with the FLPD for four years, was selected to work with Matrix.

The pair then underwent an 11-week training course, under the supervision of canine master trainer and Coon Rapids police officer Mark McDonough.

They practiced tracking and apprehension, narcotics detection and searching for evidence. Though they worked throughout the metro area, most training occurred in Coon Rapids and Cambridge.

Friendly personality

Along with case work, another aspect of Matrix's job has been meeting members of the community through demonstrations. Richert said he and Matrix have so far completed two demonstrations that mainly displayed Matrix's obedience skills.

Though most commands originally taught to Matrix were in Czech, in training they were converted to English. According to Richert, he is the sole person whose commands Matrix will respond to and described him as "a one-person dog."

Overall, he said Matrix has a friendly personality. When not on duty, the dog lives at Richert's home along with another dog; a German short-hair pointer. He said the two get along well.

"He's very good with my family," Richert added. And he believes Matrix is a strong addition to the police department as well.

"He's a real social dog," mentioned Richert, "But when I tell him to work, he works."

Top of Page

Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605