Money raised for police K-9 unit

Canine unit officers in Cedar Rapids and Linn County say bomb and drug sniffing dogs help combat drug traffic and sniff bombs. A Cedar Rapids pet store owner agrees, and that's why the parking lot of Pet's Playhouse, 151 Jacolyn Dr. NW. looked like a carnival Saturday.

A cover band, a dunk tank and McGruff the Crime Dog entertained the crowd while police officers put out the word. The message: dogs make police work easier. Mike Hunt, the owner of the pet store estimated at least 4,000 people would come to the third annual fundraiser. The event raised $10,000 in 2008 and $12,000 last year, Hunt said.

“The more dogs we have the safer I think everybody will be in town, the safer the officers will be,” he added.

The Police Department currently has seven dogs that are available to sniff out cars and scope out problem areas. The Linn County Sheriff has two. Dogs are usually partnered with an officer who cares for the dog like any other animal owner, except that the dogs have to work, and they're capable of being quite fierce. They also can raise legal questions.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation filed court papers to support a man arrested by police who used a K-9 unit to find drugs in his car. Law enforcement, with the assistance of the dogs, went beyond what was considered a reasonable reason to warrant an animal-assisted search. The ACLU brief also said that after an initial search revealed no contraband or weapons, an officer called in a dog unit because “something wasn't right.”

On Saturday, west of the Cedar River the budget priorities of local lawmakers were discussed by police and citizens. “The city doesn't have a budget for the canines, which is the problem. All of our money comes from community support and things like this today,” said Al Fear, 38, a police officer with the canine unit.