Word on the streets among crooks and drug dealers is, “Stay out of Sunnyvale because you will get arrested.” This is the highest compliment a police department can receive, Sunnyvale Deputy Chief Mark Stivers proudly told members of our Association of Realtors' Cupertino/Sunnyvale District at our Thursday tour meeting.
The members of the department responsible for this compliment also showed up...its canine unit, including the dog handlers and the star of the show, Quest, an eight-year-old German Shepherd, one of four dogs who form part of the unit. There was also “handler extraordinaire” Officer Chris Fontaine, Quest’s trainer and partner. Then Fontaine, one of just two officers in the department presented the Officer of the Year award last week, demonstrated how Quest is trained to find narcotics.
Quest is as friendly as can be, but he becomes a police dog when he is on duty. His collar is his uniform, and when it is on, he is alert and ready.
The officers were at the meeting not just to speak about their canine unit, but also to receive a $2,000 donation from the Realtors. The money will be used to purchase lifesaving equipment for the dogs, such as oxygen bottles and masks, as well as other important equipment for their fourth dog, which the department just purchased through a Homeland Security grant.
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