Back on duty

Toben, one of the Cape Girardeau Police Department's two canines, began work again this spring after a two-month hiatus due to injury in the line of duty.

Toben suffered a hernia in November when he chased a robbery suspect into a darkened building and the man began striking him.

Officer Jeff Bourbon, Toben's handler, said he knew something was wrong with the dog. He had begun to lose weight, Bourbon said, but Toben's enthusiasm for his work never waned.

The veterinarian who diagnosed the hernia determined it was caused by blunt force trauma, most likely from Toben's encounter with the assailant, Bourbon said. The injury was similar to those in dogs that have been hit by cars, he said.

Toben also required treatment for an abscess on his prostate gland.

The dog underwent surgery in January for the abscess and the hernia, and he was also neutered.

The veterinarian who performed the operation told Bourbon that Toben was on his feet and playful 30 minutes after the surgery.

"He said it was the fastest he'd ever seen a dog recover from a surgery," Bourbon said.

The department gave Toben a long rest from active duty to be on the safe side because of the number of stitches he'd received.

During that rest, Bourbon kept Toben in an airline kennel in his basement so the dog couldn't rip any of the stitches. When he was out of the kennel, Toben was kept on a lead.

One day, Bourbon said, he'd just put Toben back in the kennel when the police scanner went off. The dog began whining and barking with excitement. He couldn't wait to get back to work, Bourbon said.

When that day came in March, the dog had to take it easy at first.

Trainer Mike Ervin and Bourbon used praise instead of offering chew toys as rewards, so the dog wouldn't be jumping around or getting excited. They also spent a lot of time on obedience training, Bourbon said.

Tracking and bite work were put on hold until they were sure he was ready.

Since returning to work, Toben has tracked five or six suspects, Bourbon said, but the first one was the toughest.

A burglary suspect took off running from the back of a residence, but Bourbon didn't set Toben to tracking him right away.

"I was a little scared to use him. I was really cautious," he said.

When the suspect was caught by police officers a short while later, the man told Bourbon that the dog had been staring at him the whole time, straining at his lead.

"He did his job. He found the bad guy for me anyway," Bourbon said.

Toben's injury was the second time a Cape Girardeau police canine has been injured in the line of duty.

In 1993, Greif, the department's first canine, was pursuing a suspect and ran in between two moving cars. Greif suffered a severed leg but survived, and he retired to his handler's care.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245

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