Doug Montgomery, a former US marine, has been an officer and K9 handler at the West Windsor Police Department since 1999. Most recently he has been working through the transition from handling his first dog, Cherno, to his second, Mackey.
Montgomery started working with Cherno, a long-haired German Shepherd, in 2010 when he was a 15-month-old pup. According to an article in Community News, they completed the 14-month training program for Cherno to become an explosives specialist, able to detect up to 20 different types of explosives.
Cherno went on to complete all kinds of assignments from being on TV shows to clearing a hotel room when the Dalai Lama was in town for a local event. Apparently Cherno and the Dalai Lama became fast friends.
With 10 years of service under his collar, Cherno, officially retired in September of 2019. Montgomery had already begun grooming Cherno’s replacement, K9 Mackey, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois, to step into the position, joining the other dog, a Malinois Shepherd mix named Hodge, on the force.
Montgomery says one of his favorite calls with Cherno was when he got dispatched to a burglary in process. After noticing they were being pursued, the burglars jumped into a van, then drove off the side of the road. One man took off on foot and Montgomery and Cherno then chased him for roughly a quarter-mile.
He says they found the guy “running through the woods with his hands straight up in the air! The man shouted to another nearby officer who was on perimeter control, ‘Are you the police? I wanna surrender, I wanna give up… Did you see the size of that dog? He was tracking me foot by foot.’”
All of the WWPD’s dogs are trained in both patrol and explosives or narcotics. Hodge’s specialty is narcotics and Cherno and Mackey are qualified explosive dogs by the New Jersey State Police Detect and Render Safe Task Force which is funded by the Department of Homeland Security. A DHS grant also funded Mackey’s purchase.
According to the WWPD social media, “When Mackey was in transit from overseas his ears were severely damaged. This made him less desirable to other handlers as he didn’t fit the look of a police dog.” They go on to explain, however, that “Officer Montgomery couldn’t let Mackey be passed over for his appearance and took Mackey as his partner. Turns out Mackey is just about as top notch as they come despite his appearance! Mackey has participated in the location of missing persons, suspect apprehension, high profile explosive sweeps, and many community policing events.”
Mackey is described as being “a giant goofball who loves ear scratches and head pats until it’s time to work. His favorite off day activity is swimming…His second favorite off day activity is swimming.”
Although Cherno is officially retired he is still certified and is often on hand to show Mackey the ropes.
“If there is a big event like we had a couple of graduations at local arenas last year and they wanted to do some explosive sweeps beforehand, Cherno still helps out,” Montgomery says.
When he isn’t chasing bad guys, Montgomery is also a part-time stunt actor with a lengthy resume. Doug, with the company of Cherno or Mackey, can be seen on a variety of shows and movies. The most well known include Quantico, The Blacklist, and The Report.
“TV producers were tired of hiring actors and teaching them how to dress, hold a weapon, properly clear a room, just the basics,” Montgomery says.
So they looked to the professionals. In fact, the popular government crime drama series The Blacklist actually hired the West Windsor SWAT team to be on the show.
The money from acting in these shows goes directly to the officer individually but an increase in booking can be an additional source of income for the WWPD.
K9s are invaluable for their skills on the job and they also raise the profile of police departments. However, they are expensive and take a lot of time to maintain.
Unlike regular patrol officers, K9 handlers don’t ever really end their shift. Their partner is practically by their side 24/7 and requires exercise, stimulation, and attention even on off days.
According to the United States Police Canine Foundation, “Maintaining canine teams is an ongoing daily and monthly process involving behavior conditioning and handler knowledge…The Canine Handler must learn how to deploy the canine in many different conditions and environments.”
The USPCA adds that insufficient public funding is the number one reason canine programs fail.
Most K9s are brought in from European countries “because they have the best genetic makeup and temperament,” according to the National Police Dog Foundation and an article in Newsweek. Mackey came from the Netherlands and his partner K9 Hodge came from Croatia.
Between the purchase of the dog and airfare, the cost of simply acquiring the dog can run over $8,000. Hodge’s costs were covered by Leona Hodge of Mather Hodge Funeral Home of Princeton in honor of her late husband Peter who was a strong supporter of the WWPD. Hodge’s donation was imperative to the purchase of K9 Hodge who is handled by Officer Frank Zicha.
For K9 units there are additional expenses beyond just leashes and food, that come with caring for a typical dog.
Zicha, for example, is in need of a new truck and “hot n’ pop” system which regulates the temperature inside the trucks for the dogs and opens the door to the crate instantly all from the officer’s remote control.
Contributions from the community help keep the successful K9 unit on the job.
Dr. Michael Tokiwa (aka Dr. T), a veterinarian at Progressive Vet Care, donates his services to care for the WWPD dogs. This includes bloodwork, vaccinations, and check-ups.
At the same time as the WWPD seeks support for its K9 unit, the department also works to give back to the community.
Officer Montgomery says one of his favorite fundraisers is Operation Bark Drop. Every year a collection is sent to a local no-kill animal shelter from residents who drop off food, beds, toys, and equipment.
Anyone interested in making a donation or sponsoring a dog, reach out to the WWPD directly or contribute by ordering a T-shirt that features K9 Mackey and several other dogs as part of the Protection4Paws drive to help provide important protection equipment for K9s.
In the meantime, the K9 unit is still very much on the job during the coronavirus pandemic when all paws are needed on deck.
