FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Local Dogs Have Day in State Games

Anno has a nose to sniff out dope--and his good work earned him the title of a top dog during recent competition at the California Police Summer Games.

The 10-year-old brown Belgian Malinois with a graying muzzle brought home two gold medals and a bronze medal during the narcotic detection competition last week at the games in Sacramento.

“He just does his job,” said Fountain Valley Police Senior Officer Ray (Rocky) Rakitis. Rakitis, 39, and Anno have been partners for about five years, and competed in the games last year. But they didn’t win a thing.

After winning this year, Rakitis, a 12-year veteran with the department, said he was so excited that he rubbed Anno’s head the entire drive home on Interstate 5.

“It was one of the greatest days of my life,” Rakitis said.

Igor, a 7 1/2-year-old Malinois who works patrol with Officer Paul Ellis of the Costa Mesa Police Department, also won honors. The 63-pound Igor won fourth place overall in the narcotics detection category in which 21 police dogs vied for awards.

Igor also placed sixth overall in a field of 51 police dogs who competed in other events in the games.

Ellis, 34, and a 10-year police veteran, said he was pleased with Igor’s performance.

“I think we are getting there,” he said. “I think in another year we can do better. Then, we will have time to get highly polished.”

Rakitis said Anno is a cross-trained police dog that not only finds drugs, but does patrol work as well, such as aiding in the apprehension of suspects.

Rakitis said he was especially proud of his partner since many of the other contenders perform only narcotic searches on the job. Anno landed a first place in the luggage search competition, third place in the building search category, but fell to sixth place in the vehicle search. Rakitis said it was his fault the dog failed to find the drugs in the car door.

“I bypassed the door--and that’s where I messed up,” he said. “He still did all right.”

Anno, however, was named best overall dog in the narcotics detection category, which earned him his second gold medal.

Ellis and Igor, who have been a team for about a year, spent weeks training for the competition, which calls on dogs to jump through windows, hop over fences and crawl through a tunnel.

Ellis, however, said it takes about two years to train police dogs for peak performance.

Rakitis said while the competition was rewarding, Anno’s work on the streets is what counts.

Anno, one of the department’s two police dogs, has earned respect. Among his finds were 40 kilos of cocaine stashed in the trunk of a car in a junkyard. He found the drugs in 40 minutes. Using police officers, it would have taken at least 12 hours, Rakitis said. The dog has also captured robbery and murder suspects and one time found $60,000 in drug proceeds under a house.

But he has also been hurt in the line of duty. He’s been kicked in the face by a suspect, which wounded his left eye. And once he was thrown against a concrete wall by a heavyweight suspect.

“It’s a tough life for a dog,” Rakitis said. “We demand certain standards. A dog has to perform at a certain level. If not, he’s gone.”

And, Anno has done an outstanding job, Rakitis said.

“He is truly my partner.”