Cal U welcomes its 1st canine officer

California University of Pennsylvania is proud to welcome its newest officer, who is the first of his kind – Bas, the university's first canine police officer.

Bas is a Belgian malinois and is 1 year old. According to a press release from the university, he was purchased from Battle Ridge Kennels and K9 Services in West Virginia.

Sgt. Robert Kwiatkowski of Manor is Bas's handler. Kwiatkowski joined the Cal U Police Department in 2013 as a patrol officer and began training with Bas at Garrow Canine Training in Charleroi last January.

“Bas has completed his training in narcotics detection,” Kwiatkowski said. “This summer he'll complete patrol and search training. He'll have ongoing maintenance training once a week through his lifetime as well.”

After he has completed his initial training, Bas will work 40 hours a week, accompanied at all times by Kwiatkowski. Whenever the two are off-duty, Bas goes home with Kwiatkowski.

“Even at home he's never a ‘normal dog,'” he said. “He's very protective of my family and is always alert even when he's not on duty.”

When he's on the job, Bas's first priority is his work.

“Bas is a very social dog and is very approachable,” Kwiatkowski said. “However, his No. 1 job when he is on duty is to protect me, followed by watching his surroundings for anything suspicious or dangerous.”

Despite being rather young, Bas is ready to take on the challenges of being a full-time patrol officer.

“He'll fill out a bit more as he gets older, but he'll always be pretty lean,” said Kwiatkowski. “He's been bred for this job. His mother was also a police dog, which is a bit unusual since most police dogs are male, and his father was a French Ring champion.”

In addition to his capacity as a police officer, Kwiatkowski said that Bas is “a public relations officer as well as a patrol officer.”

“It's important for the community to understand that Bas is an officer, but he's also an outreach tool,” Kwiatkowski said. “He allows students to become comfortable with the campus police in a way that we hope makes us more approachable so that students can feel safe coming to us in an emergency. That's a very important goal for us.”

When he is on duty, Kwiatkowski carries small cards that resemble baseball collector's cards featuring a photo of Bas on the front. On the back, the cards have information about Bas including his date of birth, breed, description and occupation. The cards also include a quote from the Cal U Police Department Chief Ed McSheffery, which reads, “Our number one job as police officers is to make this campus a safe environment. Bas is another element of our department's community policing approach.”

“The students love him,” said Kwiatkowski. “Originally I was a bit concerned about how they would respect Bas being an officer first, but they have all been very respectful of his duties. They're smart about how they interact with him.”

Local businesses including Clover Farm Veterinary Clinic, Tractor Supply Co., the West Brownsville Wal-Mart and Poochies have provided supplies or care to Bas in order to ensure that he has everything he needs to be healthy and alert while on the job.

Throughout the summer, Bas and Kwiatkowski will continue to train in preparation for the upcoming school year, when students will be able to meet Cal U's newest officer at school and community events.

Kaidia Pickels is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.