Meet Zoomer, USU’s first canine police officer

Nose to the ground, Zoomer runs through a maze of boxes, backpacks and suitcases. When he finds what he is searching for, a suitcase filled with smokeless powder, he looks to his human partner for affirmation. He is rewarded with his favorite toy, a tennis ball.

Zoomer, a 2-year-old black Labrador retriever, is joining Utah State University’s police force as a tactical dog with a specialty in explosives detection, commonly referred to as a “bomb dog.”

Zoomer is also the only dog in Cache Valley with a specialty in bomb detection.

“We wanted a dog that would be approachable and friendly,” USU police Capt. Kent Harris said. “But we also wanted one with a good work ethic.”

Scott Murray, a USU patrol officer and Zoomer’s human partner, added that ”little kids love dogs,” so they wanted an animal that people of all ages could approach and feel comfortable seeing around the USU community.

Austin Roundy

Scott Murray, USU patrol officer, stands with new police dog Zoomer.

While everyone is talking about him and taking pictures, Zoomer is focused on a tennis ball that Harris is holding. The ball was used in training as his reward system, and he expects to receive it after successfully alerting to a suspicious item.

“It’s like having a newborn baby,” Murray said. “He’s a lot of work, but he’s fun.”

Murray has been with USU’s police force since January. Before that he was a supervisor with the Logan City Police Department. According to Murray, having a bomb dog at USU offers “peace of mind.”

“We now have the tool to be able to respond and take care of an incident expeditiously,” he said. “A legitimate bomb threat is a huge thing. It requires evacuations and bomb technicians to have to come in. If we can pinpoint if there actually is a threat, everything is going to go a lot faster.”

Although Zoomer is a canine officer, he will not be used for apprehension. This means, as Murray says, “he is not trained to bite.”

Additionally, because Zoomer is the only bomb dog in Cache Valley, he will also be an asset to surrounding agencies. On a daily basis, he will be patrolling with Murray, being a “visible deterrent on campus” and ready to investigate any suspicious items.

“The university decided to get a dog because we wanted to make sure the university is the safest we can make it,” Harris said.

Harris added that plans to get another police dog for USU are “up in the air.” He said they would like to get another dog, but that is something to look at with future budgeting.

“I want to throw a special thanks to the university administration for their support,” Harris said. “Also, to Scott for taking on this task, it’s going to be a lot of work. Not only at work, but at home as well.”

Zoomer was purchased through a grant from Pacific Coast K9 in Washington. The grant requires that he be available to other state police departments in the area. Harris said he believes the initial costs of acquiring and training Zoomer run between $10,000 to $16,000.

“Ultimately, we want people to know that, if you come on campus and try to do something, we have a deterrent here,” Harris said. “We also want it to be known that, whenever someone chooses to come on campus, that they are safe.”

Scott Murray, USU patrol officer, poses with new police dog, Zoomer.

—taylorcripe@gmail.com
@cripe_taylor