Maverick has already been a key player in arrests in Atascadero

ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Police Department (APD) has a new K-9 on the force. Maverick and his handler, Officer Ryan Goudy, have been officially on cases together for a little over a month. Before that, Maverick was in basic training for six weeks training to become a substantial and crucial part of the detection team at APD.

“As Maverick’s handler, he rides in my patrol vehicle, and he is in my control at all times,” Goudy said. “Police K-9s are trained to respond only to their specific handlers, so he would not go on patrol with another officer. I regularly bring Maverick out to socialize with the other officers in the department to familiarize him. This way, he understands that we are one team or ‘pack.’” 

During his six weeks of Basic Patrol School, Maverick went through six different phases and completed goals that set him up to be certified as an official Patrol K-9, But Maverick didn’t come to the APD untrained. In fact, he’d had all of his obedience training before Atascadero purchased him, and he joined Goudy.

“Once Maverick had a solid foundation in patrol obedience and scent detection, we progressed into apprehension and narcotic detection,” Goudy said. “In order to complete Patrol School, a K-9 must be able to successfully perform building searches and open area searches. The K-9s also complete scenario-based training where they demonstrate handler protection, reaction to stressful confrontation, and other scenarios they are likely to encounter in the field.”

Currently, the APD has a quality trainer who purchases the dogs who hopefully end up permanently joining the force.Maverick himself was selected because of his ace social demeanor and his high work drive, as well as the particular needs in the community. The new K-9 member of the department passed all of his training with flying colors and is now certified in state-mandated obedience, handler protection, building/open area searches, suspect apprehensions, and narcotics detection. He’s been trained to identify and detect fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy.

“Working with Maverick has been incredibly rewarding. A former handler told me, ‘You get out of it what you put into it,’ and that is accurate,” said Goudy of his new K-9 partner. “Patrol School is physically strenuous and exhausting, but the work that I put into Maverick has already been evident. Maverick has performed better than I had initially expected, and he seems to enjoy detection work.” 

In his short time on the force, K-9 Maverick has helped Goudy and APD with narcotic searches that have led to the arrest of a convicted felon who was on felony probation. Because of an open-air sniff from Maverick, which positively alerted Goudy of the presence of illegal controlled substances, an arrest was made, along with a felony probation violation being filed with the District Attorney’s Office.

“Most handlers I have spoken with all say that working with K-9s is the best job in law enforcement, and so far, I believe this to be true,” Goudy stated. “It is an incredibly rewarding assignment that I have always aspired to. Working with a K-9 is complex and can add unique challenges to patrol work.”

APD’s K-9 program would not be possible without the help of Atascadero, as it is various organizations, members of the community, and local businesses that donate most of the money through fundraising and private donations that keep the program alive. 

“We have been so thankful for the historical and continued support from our community for the past, present, and future canines of the Atascadero Police Department. Without the community’s ongoing support, our canine program would not be possible. So on behalf of K-9 Maverick and I, as well as our police department’s second canine team, Officer Hernandez and K-9 Pomic, we thank you all, and we look forward to giving back to the community in every way we can,” concluded Goudy.

Featured Image: Maverick (left) and handler Officer Ryan Goudy are shown in front of the Atascadero Police Station. Photo Courtesy of APD