PUBLISHED 7/17/08 ----

Canines provide a valuable service to law enforcement agencies and, by extension, to the law-abiding public. They grab or corner fleeing suspects, sniff out narcotics, search buildings and more. Like the officers they support, they sometimes pay dearly for their service.

The people of Kern County are fortunate to have some exemplary dogs on duty, as evidenced by the solid showing by two local contingents at last weekend’s third annual Ventura County K-9 trials. More than 50 teams participated in the event.

Four Bakersfield Police Department officers, led by Senior Officer Sean Morphis and his German shepard, Max, racked up awards, and three of five Kern County Sheriff’s deputies, led by Deputy Lance Grimes and his Belgian Malinois, Zak, were among the winners. Zak was named Top Dog and recipient of the Handler’s Choice award, which is given by the trial agitators to the best dog regardless of judges’ scores.

The availability of these dogs to officers ought to concern local bad guys. Were these dogs not so well trained, their presence in the community might be cause for alarm to uneasy bystanders, as well.

But the Ventura trials suggest that, as potentially dangerous as these K-9s might be, capable handlers are giving the commands. For that reason, law-abiding residents can be reasonably confident that the right people — that is, suspects — are appropriately on the wrong end of the K-9’s snarl.