Maryville Police Department’s Officer Campbell Ferguson completed K-9 handling training on April 26. At the Blount County Sheriff’s Office training facility, Ferguson and K-9 Glory, a black shepherd, showed off what they learned.
The officer gave the command for Glory to lie on the ground, which she immediately did. She sat still as stone with a laser focus on Ferguson until given the okay. She was rewarded with a large tug toy which she immediately snatched up and brought to Ferguson for a little tug-of-war.
Fellow officers tell Ferguson that Glory is the Ferrari of K-9s, and watching her at work, it wasn’t difficult to see why.
As Glory trotted alongside Ferguson, eyes never leaving him, the two looked like they had never spent a day apart, which is a testament to the training the officers undergo because Glory had worked with two previous handlers before being paired with Ferguson.
Ferguson explained that anytime a handler deploys a K-9, the handler is required to note the deployment. Even that day, when Ferguson brought K-9 Glory out to show off her skills, he had to document it. If a handler doesn’t seem to be using the K-9, they could eventually be removed from the handler, which is what happened in K-9 Glory’s case.
Glory spent some time with MPD Sgt. Steven Wickert before finding her way to Ferguson.
Ferguson’s interest in working with a K-9 was first sparked while he was in the military. He said after the murder of MPD Officer Kenny Moats, he knew he wanted a career in law enforcement. He joined the Army in 2017 and worked as a military police officer where he said he learned different aspects of the role, including K-9 work.
Ferguson spent about three years with the Knoxville Police Department before joining MPD. He has been with MPD for about three years, he said
Growing up, Ferguson always had dogs — from huskies to boxers, but a pet dog can be much different than a K-9.
“I’ve always had a dog ever since I could remember, so I’ve always been around dogs, but I’ve never truly understood or had an appreciation for a working K-9,” he said.
Ferguson said there are night and day differences in the level of care, personality and training of K-9s when compared to their cuddly counterparts. Glory has a strict diet and training regimen that she and Ferguson adhere to. After all, at the end of the day, Glory has a job to do.
“I need her to perform when the chips are down,” Ferguson said.
Still, when she is at home, she is a beloved member of the family.
Ferguson said at home, Glory “gets the princess treatment.”
Glory loves Ferguson’s wife and gets along very well with his other female family dog, who also happens to be a German Shepherd. With the two of them together, it’s like a “little sorority,” he said.
During their training together, K9 Glory was already a seasoned professional.
“It was challenging at times for me, just getting to learn how to be a handler. But for her, it was nothing for her,” Ferguson said.
One learning curve they needed to hurdle was how Glory was rewarded for her good work. Her previous handler paid her in treats they kept on a treat belt, but Ferguson prefers to pay with toys. Glory, remembering those tasty treats, would nibble at Ferguson’s belt a little but learned quickly she would be getting her tug toy instead of a snack.
Ferguson said that while Glory is an all-around phenomenal K-9, she really excels at obedience and apprehension.
The two of them developed an incredibly strong bond during their time spent training together.
“That dog is my best friend,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said it felt great to graduate from K-9 handling training. Leading up to the certification test, Ferguson, a self-described perfectionist, said that he was feeling some stress. Sgt. Allen Russell, of BCSO, acted as a mentor to Ferguson and told him to treat the certification test as just another day of training.
“He is a phenomenal dog and handler trainer,” Ferguson said of Russell.
On the certification day, “my blood pressure was through the roof!” Ferguson said.
He didn’t need to worry, though; Glory passed with flying colors.
“I could not have been prouder of her,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson explained that a common misconception about K9s is that they are aggressive “trained killers” when, in fact, many of them are very social and love to be around people. Glory was no exception to that rule and gladly accepted scratches and back rubs during the interview.
Ferguson also made it a point to mention that not all K-9s perform the same task. He said people may think of K9s as strictly apprehenders, but some are trained in other tasks that don’t involve apprehension at all. For example, K-9 Miller, of BCSO is exclusively trained to locate explosive devices. K-9 Sadie, also of BCSO, only tracks.
If citizens want to develop a better understanding of the work that goes into K9 training and handling, they could get involved in a citizen’s academy program, Ferguson explained.
MPD and BCSO both offer citizen’s academies.
“Come to a training and see what we do,” said Ferguson.
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