Research: Going on a Ride-Along

Fear the Shadows - A prequel novella for newsletter subscribers only coming soon
Out of the Ashes - The first official book releases March 28th
Frozen in Jeopardy - The second book releases July 25th
While one of my characters, Officer Gabe Harrison, is featured in Frozen in Jeopardy, he actually makes an appearance in the other two books as well. He works for the Destiny Police Department as a member of the K-9 unit. He and his German shepherd partner, Loki, specialize in tracking.

I spoke with Lt. Moran who not only answered some of my questions, but he suggested I go on a ride-along with one of the K-9 units and put me in touch with Officer Timothy Cox and his dog, Barco.
I was fortunate to be able to go on a four hour ride-along with Officer Cox and Barco a couple of weeks ago.
Not only was Officer Cox super helpful when it came to understanding how he and Barco are involved in the every day workings of the police department, but I got to see how their vehicle is set up, including the kennel that Barco rides in.
I also learned a lot about how police dogs are trained and even got to watch Barco perform a drug search. It gave me a great deal of respect not only for what the dog can do, but for all of the hard work that goes into what the handler does to train the dog and read his reactions in order to track effectively.

For example, there's a scene in Out of the Ashes where someone breaks into a house. I originally had Gabe and Loki going in and clearing the home. Instead, I learned that they would wait for backup and then go in with at least one other officer.
I'm excited to apply everything I've learned to this series, and I look forward to being able to share the books with all of you!
Published on March 08, 2023 22:00
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