Wasco County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Andrew Sesma is pictured with his partner, police dog Xena, who has quickly proven a benefit to local law agencies.
Earlier this year, just three days into her job, Xena, an enthusiastic rookie with the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, proved her worth during an arrest.
The mere presence of Xena, a laser-focused 20-month old police dog, was enough to have a man quickly surrender to officers without his usual scuffle that risked the safety of both him and arresting officers.
“That’s why we got her,” said Xena’s handler, Wasco County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Sesma. He said her presence has another bonus: “The arrest report was two paragraphs instead of three pages.”
The man arrested has a history with police officers and he always hides in his shed; when he’s found, he goes hands on. When he was arrested two weeks before that, it took multiple law enforcement officers to contain him. “It’s always big uses of force with this guy.”
Wasco County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Sesma and his partner, police dog Xena, take a photo break while on patrol.
Contributed photo
But when Sesma and Xena rolled up, Sesma told the man, “‘Hey, if you’re gonna fight, you’re gonna fight my dog.’ Three minutes later he’s fully compliant with us.”
In that moment, she was “totally in the zone,” Sesma said. “Drool was pouring out of her mouth and she was staring at this guy. She has these totally black eyes, so she kind of looks mean, but she’s a totally sweet dog.”
Xena is a Malinois, a breed Sesma describes as “the German Shepherd’s crazy cousin.” Sesma noted, “Xena’s dad was a cop, so she comes from law enforcement.”
Xena lives with Sesma, but she’s never just allowed to roam the house. She has her own backyard with a big locked kennel and her own doghouse. “She’s always been just 100% about work.”
Xena was sworn in as a law enforcement officer in mid-April. She’s “very smart,” Sesma said, and picked up tracking skills quickly. “We have a lot to learn, but it’s fun though, I’m having a blast with it. She picks up everything quick.”
He and Xena went to a 10-week handler course in the Medford area earlier this year at “Dutch Canine” and “Perfect Pack Dog training.” “That really helped with our bonding because it was pretty much me and her in a hotel room. And I can’t sit still either, so we’d go for a walk. She picked up to me right off the bat. She was ready to work and now she’s my sidekick.”
They learned about things like tracking, apprehension, and working as a K9 team.
He’s learned about her habits, too. He can tell when she’s sort of tracking a scent, and when she’s really tracking a scent. “It’s a whole different behavior.”
The cost of her training and equipment was around $24,000, but with community donations and a fundraiser hosted by Beachwood Eatery, “We reached our goal, which was amazing.”
Coastal Farm & Ranch donates two bags of Victory dog food to Xena a month, and she gets discounted checkups at Columbia Veterinary Hospital in The Dalles.
Xena does bite work with other deputies who wear bite suits. She prefers to bite legs.
“We put people in bite suits that are 6-4 — huge people — and she’s always engaged in that stuff,” Sesma said. “She loves to work. It’s her passion, it’s her calling in life.”
But she hasn’t had to put that particular work to use on the job yet. In fact, just her presence has led to a number of quick arrests.
Awhile after Xena’s first arrest, she and Sesma went to help find a man police were looking for by The Dalles Bridge. The man was a violent offender, making him a candidate for using Xena.
Police had looked for the man for 30-40 minutes before Xena arrived. Within three minutes of her arrival, the suspect was apprehended.
When they arrived, Sesma announced via his vehicle’s loudspeaker that a police dog was tracking the suspect, so the suspect would know and be warned.
Xena, who is mostly kept on a leash, tightly controlled by Sesma, made a beeline toward a clump of trees and stopped. “Her tail just shot up.
Wasco County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Andrew Sesma is pictured with his partner, police dog Xena, who has quickly proven a benefit to local law agencies.
Contributed photo
“I see the guy and I gave my K9 announcements and she started barking and he was hands up, perfectly surrendered to us.”
He instructs suspects: “If you run, if you fight, you’re going to get bit. Do you understand me?” The usual response is “please don’t send the dog.”
Sesma also has done trainings with fellow law officers so they know how to conduct themselves when Xena is on scene. They need to be quiet and let him do the talking, since anyone on scene who is being loud will draw her attention.
“She doesn’t understand good guys, bad guys, she wants to go after what’s exciting to her.”
He tells fellow officers if they see a suspect on a search to “just calmly, calmly tell me.”
Sesma has to do 16 hours of training with Xena a month, outside of his regular duty hours. On duty, Xena and Sesma patrol in a specially outfitted car with a kennel in back. He hops out about once an hour to take her for a walk.
He does 30 minutes of obedience training with her daily, to “keep her on point.”
He heads to Bend once a month for training with other K-9 officers.
He also plays with her for fun, although “I try to stay away from her mouth.” He never takes her in public. “It just kind of helps stop the accidental stuff. A lot of people see dogs and might want to approach. She’s not that kind of dog.”
He’s put “Do Not Pet” patches on her harness. Sesma also hopes to get a GoPro to put on Xena.
Sesma recently helped The Dalles Police Department in an arrest that highlighted the training the pair has done together.
He was chasing a guy by the Eagles Lodge, and gave two or three warnings about sending his dog. Then he said, “’Last warning, you’re going to get bit.’ Xena began to bark. He said, ‘Please don’t,’ so I instantly said, ‘Xena here!’ and it worked.”
The suspect, as Sesma described it, essentially “slid into home” in his zeal to get down on the ground immediately to avoid being bit.
His favorite part of having Xena is “just having a dog as my partner. Just always having a backup right in my car.”
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