Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 1 · column 2 of 5 · from the scan, no model involved
By CINDY MAHAN
Rappahnnock News Staff Writer
Virginia State Trooper Wayne Sumner of Rappahannock County graduated from Patrol K-9 School at the State Police headquarters in Richmond last Friday.
Trooper Sumner attended the school for 12 weeks of intensive training, and once finished, returned to Rappahannock with Marko, who is a Belgian Malinois almost five years old. Five other men attended the school, and because there was one extra dog to be trained, Trooper Sumner also had a Rottweiler, besides Marko, during the training. Once school was finished, he had to choose which of the two dogs he would bring home. He said it was a really tough choice, but even though the Rottweiler doesn't have a job with a handler right now, he will be assigned to someone in the spring.
As one of the two canine handlers in Division II in Virginia, Trooper Sumner is on call 24 hours a day. Division II is made up of 13 counties in the state. The other handler is in Fredericksburg, so Trooper Sumner and Marko cover mostly west of Culpeper. He has already had two calls — one to assist in a search and rescue and another to chase a suspect in a neighboring county. They are also certified to go anywhere in the state, if needed.
When another handler in the division was promoted, Trooper Sumner was chosen out of seven applicants to attend the Patrol K-9 School. He has always had dogs, he said, and besides Marko, he has beagles which he uses for hunting. The State Police built a kennel at his house for Marko, and Marko rides in Trooper Sumner's state police car when he is on the road. v
Marko's breed, Belgian Malinois, is one of four varieties of Belgian Sheepdog and is named for the Belgian city of Marines. They are relatively new to the U.S., having been recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1965, in the herding group. According to a Belgian Malinois information page on the Internet, they are known to excel at tracking, agility, obedience, protection, narcotics and bomb detection work, search and rescue, herding, assistance dogs and pulling sleds or carts.
They are easily trainable and very obedient. A very handsome dog, Marko weighs close to 90 lbs. Trooper Sumner said his dog is very alert. "He wants to get the job done and get it done now,” he said. Marko should be able to work until he is 10 or 11.
Marko is certified in tracking, article search, area search, reasonable force, agility, handler protection and building search. When tracking, Marko tracks the human scent and ground disturbance, where a person's running through the grass has disturbed it. Dead skins cells are always fairing off a body, said Trooper Sumner, and that is another way that Marko can track the human scent.
If someone tried to attack Trooper Sumner,
93.9%