Photo by Miranda Pederson/Daily News Warren County Sheriff's Sgt. Tony Chism (above) trains with the department's new dog, Caba, a 14-month-old German shepherd, as the dog signals that he detects a drug Tuesday at the Advance Canine Academy. Caba will replace the retiring Bojar.

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SCOTTSVILLE - The Warren County Sheriff's Department will retire its first police dog Feb. 3, when its replacement completes training.

Sgt. Tony Chism will keep his partner, Bojar, as a family pet after being his handler for the past three years. The new dog, Caba, a 14-month-old German shepherd, began training Monday at Advanced Canine Academy in Scottsville.

“We found a lot of drugs with Bojar that normally street officers wouldn't have been able to find,” Chism said.

Though Bojar was trained in narcotics detection, felony apprehension, tracking and handler protection, the dog was nearly always used for finding drugs, he said.

“In three years he was only used once for the aggression part,” Chism said.

One of Bojar's most impressive efforts was Nov. 20, 2003, when the dog located 15 grams of marijuana in a vehicle console on Interstate 65. Deputies had to take the console apart to locate the marijuana.

The dog's tracking skills were used Feb. 22, 2004, when Bojar tracked a suspect who had fled Richpond Crop Service after being seen stealing anhydrous ammonia.

Bojar's biggest find came July 20, 2004, when he helped the Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force locate 139 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of a vehicle and another 224 pounds of marijuana in a storage room.

“Having the canine units gives the department the opportunity to expand its police work,” said Chief Deputy Roger Osborne.

Deputies will call for more help from the dog when they feel additional investigation is needed, he said.

“We got the dog from another department and he was already in the twilight of his career,” Osborne said.

Bojar came to the sheriff's department when he was 7 years old, and Chism was the dog's fourth handler, Chism said.

“Bojar started to slow down a lot and is having problems with his joints, so that's why we're retiring him,” he said.

A large part of Bojar's work was going into schools and doing demonstrations, Chism said. The students are shown the dog doing apprehensions and finding narcotics.

Bojar also did several searches at area high schools as a deterrent to keep students from bringing drugs to school, he said.

“I'm both excited about the new dog and sad to see Bojar retire,” Chism said. “He's my partner. But I get to keep him and interact with him.”

Bojar is slowly adjusting to not going to work with Chism.

“When I start the truck he still thinks he's supposed to be going along,” Chism said.

The key to working with a canine is developing a bond and trust with the dog, he said.

“When you do you'll be able to depend on him more than anyone else,” Chism said. “The dog will be with you all the time.”

Caba spent Tuesday doing his first day of apprehension in a building with Chism at the former hospital in Scottsville, and spent Monday and parts of Tuesday on narcotics detection.

People think these dogs are mean, but they're really an extension of the officer; he gives a command and they do it, Osborne said.

“The dogs are trained to apprehend, not to attack,” said Gene England, owner and trainer at Advanced Canine Academy. “We don't even use that word.”

The dogs are trained to be sociable around people, he said, and people shouldn't be afraid of them.

“A dog is a tool, just like pepper spray or anything else, and you have to respect it as such,” Chism said.