New canine team proves to be valuable asset for Wayne County Sheriff's Department

GREENVILLE — Johnny Scott jumped at the opportunity to be the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department’s new canine handler.

The opportunity presented itself earlier this year when the former canine handler “ran into a situation and couldn’t continue to do it anymore,” said Scott, who is “very grateful” Sheriff Dean Finch gave him the chance to work with Paco, a 3-year-old German shepherd.

“I love being the canine handler; I’ve been around animals my whole life,” said Scott, who has served as a deputy since November 2017. “Being the canine handler, it’s just a rewarding part of the job.”

For Scott, he said, its rewarding to work with Paco and watch how he works.

Paco, according to Scott, is “always ready to work. He loves to work. For him, it’s a game.”

Having Paco as his partner is “something I rely on now,” Scott said. “I can’t smell (the narcotics), but he can. That’s a huge help.”

Scott said it takes a certain “mind set” to work with a dog.

“Knowing your dog, knowing your dog’s actions/movements, the way he alerts” makes him a “valuable aspect of the job,” Scott said.

Paco and Scott share what the deputy describes as a “strong bond. … I trust him; he trusts I’m not going to let anything bad happen to him.”

That, according to Scott, is a very important aspect of being a canine handler, “being able to trust your partner and not second guess them.”

Canines, such as Paco, Scott said, are a valuable tool for law enforcement in “detecting the presence or odor of narcotics to tracking. He does do apprehension work” too.

Although Paco is a “multipurpose” dog, “the majority of our use is narcotics,” Scott explained.

Paco is trained to detect marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

Having a canine in Wayne County, according to Scott, has been a deterrent for narcotics.

“It’s never going to go away, but the presence of a canine that is narcotics trained is a huge help,” he said. “People know, the bad people know we have a canine capable of finding their drugs, so we can bring those folks to justice.”

Paco, Scott said, also has been called to track a couple of times, but the individual always has been found before he has been deployed.

“We’ve not done apprehension, thankfully,” Scott added.

For Wayne County, Scott said, Paco is a valuable tool.

Finch agreed.

“It’s a great asset to our department” and “exciting to have the tool” available for use by the department or other agencies, Finch said.

“We try to help anybody that gets a hold of us,” Scott said.

The Reynolds County Sheriff’s Department occasionally reaches out for assistance as it only has a dog trained in narcotics detection, Scott said.

Paco and Scott also are available to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Piedmont Police Department.

The patrol, Scott said, has its own canine, but it is based in the Cape Girardeau area.

“Having a canine in this area makes it a lot easier on troopers,” Scott said. “They’re not sitting roadside for two hours waiting on a dog for a stopped vehicle they have reason to believe has narcotics” in it.

As a result, “we stay on call 24/7,” Scott said.

Paco and Scott, Finch said, have been “very busy. We’ve used them quite a bit. (Scott) does an excellent job. He’s willing to go at any moment.”

Scott said he and Paco also try to get into the schools whenever possible.

“They’ll call us if we need to do a walk through of the school” to make sure no illegal substances are there, Scott said.

“It’s good to take (Paco) into the school,” Finch said. “We’ve got an open invitation to the schools.”

Although challenging because of their schedule, Scott said, he and Paco try to accommodate any community events when their presence is requested.

As Scott looks to the future, he said, the “ultimate goal is to continue in work of narcotics to keep that stuff off the street.

“They really destroy families. It’s great that we have a tool that we can utilize to help stop the epidemic.”