Keeping the peace

The German shepherd with silky black fur trots down the halls of Erie County Medical Center with an air of determination.

From time to time, the dog stops in its tracks. It takes a couple of sniffs in a corner or a doorway and proceeds. Once in a while, it slows to get a loving pet from a nurse or a patient.

This is no therapy dog.

Grider is on duty.

Grider is the furry half of ECMC Police's K-9 unit. His handler is Officer Bryan Mayer, who has been working with the shepherd for almost a year now.

The pair patrols the hospital, along with other county facilities, including the Erie County Home. Grider's role is a "proactive one," Mayer said during a recent "walk-along" with the K-9 unit.

The dog's presence can help quell sometimes tense situations that can arise at ECMC, particularly in its Trauma 1 center, where those with the region's worst injuries, including gunshot wounds, are brought for life-saving treatment.

"I just bring him into a situation where someone is acting up, and they'll relax and hear what we have to say," Mayer said.

If they don't, Mayer might command the dog to bark. That's often enough to get people's attention, he said.

"Our goal is to de-escalate," ECMC Police Chief Kevin Comerford said. "It's about just keeping a safe environment for employees, patients and anyone who comes to the hospital."

The well-disciplined dog is trained to attack, but only at Mayer's command, he said. He has yet to have to resort to that.

Mayer explained his dog's role in keeping the peace: "He would be considered between here," Mayer said, pointing to his pepper spray, "and here and here" he went on, pointing to his extendable baton and his handgun.

Just having the dog next to him serves as a warning to troublemakers, but one that isn't as menacing as a firearm, Mayer said.

"It gives a kinder, softer image for the hospital," he said.

Grider can sniff out illegal drugs, Mayer said, and has been trained to know the difference between legal narcotics kept at the hospital for medical purposes and those being brought in for illicit purposes.

When he finds drugs, Grider is trained to act passively -- key in a hospital setting. Unlike some narcotics dogs trained to bark and pounce on the substance, Grider simply sits down, and gives a quick turn of his head. If Mayer doesn't notice Grider's posture, the dog "will give me a little yelp," Mayer said.

One thing Grider is not trained for is search and rescue. The hospital's halls are too heavily traveled for a dog to be useful when searching for a missing patient, Mayer explained.

While Grider is not a therapy dog, Mayer said, he does get requests from patients for the pooch to pay a visit.

Mayer proposed bringing a police dog to ECMC to hospital management. He pointed out that the hospital had used K-9 units decades ago, but the program was dissolved in the early 1980s.

The hospital's booster club raised $7,000 to buy the dog from a Connecticut kennel, which had imported Grider from Hungary. More money was raised for his training and to retrofit a police car to hold him.

Jody Lomeo, the CEO of ECMC, acknowledged he was at first a little concerned about "how the dog would be received by employees and patients."

But he was pleasantly surprised as the hospital community embraced Grider.

"The dog is loving and fun and really engaging, welcoming. You don't look at the dog and feel threatened or scared," Lomeo said.

Grider got his name through a contest at the hospital. More than 450 people participated, Lomeo said. "Grider" is the street ECMC is located on.

Enthusiasm for the dog hasn't waned. Last month, the son of operating room nurse Gail Singer and his Boy Scout troop presented Grider with a kevlar vest.

Evan Singer, 17, of Williamsville, and his fellow scouts heard about Grider's need for a vest and made it their Eagle Scout project. They sewed doggie bandannas for a fundraiser.

"Imagine, teenage boys using sewing machines," Singer said. "They baked homemade dog biscuits and made candy bars with police dog facts."

The K-9 program "has been a great addition," Comerford said. "That's why we're expanding it." The hospital expects to add a second K-9 unit in the next couple of months.

Grider "has become part of the work force at the hospital," he said. "It's part of the ECMC family."


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