2023 Animal Stories Magazine

Page 11 2023 Animal Stories Lincoln Daily News February 22. 2023 Ace is the fourth service dog the Lincoln Police Department has had. His primary job is to assist the department in drug related arrests. He has been trained to have a keen sense of smell. He also has a secondary responsibility to the officers in the department. He is an aggressive attack dog, trained to assist his handler in subduing suspects who are resisting arrest. Many people have seen Ace in calm settings such as at school assemblies or special demonstrations held by the LPD. And those same people will tell you with confidence that Ace is a German Shepherd. He is not. Ace is a Belgian Malinois. While his coloring is very similar to a German Shepherd, his breed is lighter and slightly smaller than a typical Shepard. According to Officer Sullivan this is beneficial because Ace is fast on his feet, very fast, and agile, quick to move and maneuver as needed to assist the LPD in making an arrest. Something else a bit unique about Ace is that he understands multiple languages. As part of his training, Ace and Officer Sullivan share unique words that are in another language. The dog clearly knows what each word means and the action he is to take accordingly. But Sullivan says it isn’t just the word, it is the manner in which it is delivered. He said that he could tell any of his fellow officers one of the command words, and that officer could utilize the word, but if the command lacks a certain intonation, Ace will not respond. Continued --