Life as a Police Officer's Wife

I get asked all the time...how do you handle being married to a Police Officer? Does it plague you with constant worry? I thought I would address some of it and talk a little bit about my hubby in this post.

I met Kris just months after he concluded his active duty in the US Air Force. In the USAF he was a Military Working Dog Handler. I was just 20 years old when we met and I thought it sounded pretty cool. That was about it...I looked at all his pictures, was proud of his past, and never really gave it a whole lot of thought. Until he told me that he had an interview with the Sheriff's Office where he now works. Then a THOUSAND questions entered my mind. I knew he wanted to pursue law enforcement after getting out of the military but I was so consumed with "the love bug" that I didn't care. But shortly after we started dating ( I am going to post that whole story on our anniversary next week) he moved to Canton to take the new job.

Shortly after Alec was born he was certified by the State of Ohio and became a Deputy Sheriff in the fall of 2003. Ever since he started working there he made it KNOWN that he wanted to be a K9 Handler again. The Sheriff's Office didn't have a K9 and Kris relentlessly rallied for one. Around August of 2004 Kris called me from work...it was official...he was the new K9 Handler for Stark County. Plato arrived in our home a few short weeks later and the rest is history.

Plato and Kris are certified by the State in tracking (either suspects who flee or lost people), narcotics, and attack. It is truly amazing to watch Plato at work and see how he can smell out the drugs...even a small amount...or track a suspect for over a mile.

Do I worry about Kris? No. I know that he knows his job and he knows it well. I can't live my entire life worrying about my husband and whether or not he will come home to me at night. The truth is that I just trust God will take care of him and that while protecting and serving our community, he and Plato will always remain safe. I love my husband's devotion to his line of work. He loves his job and what he does. He loves serving the community. He is great at what he does and what he does is so honorable.

Many people ask us about Plato and the best way to describe him is that he has two different "modes." He has a "work mode" and a "home mode." When Kris puts on his unifrom to go to work Plato KNOWS that it is time to WORK and he will stand at the door and whimper...LOUDLY whimper. On the job he is a different dog. When he comes home he wants to be played with, given treats, and acts like most other dogs. He is very, very well-trained and his behavior is incredible. Except when we leave the house. As with most Police Dogs, they have separation anxiety when their handlers leave them alone. This is because they spend nearly 24/7 with their handlers and are trained to protect them. Plato does NOT handle us leaving the house well. He has been clinically diagnosed with separation anxiety and we have to give him sedatives when we leave the house so he doesn't tear things up. He gets very, very upset when we leave. It is common in working dogs, although we hope that as he gets older he will get better. No luck so far!

With our children he is amazing. He is very, VERY protective of both Alec and Mikayla. When Alec goes out back to play, and Plato is with him, Plato will follow him around the yard and always lay FACING Alec so he can keep an eye on him. He is also like this when strangers are in our house. Like the other day my mom was playing with Mikayla on the floor and Plato was totally checking out the ENTIRE situation and making my mom VERY nervous. He would most DEFINATELY hurt someone who tried to hurt us. But he would NOT hurt US. To us he is a pet, and yes, when he retires from the force he will stay with us as our dog. He is our dog, afterall. Even if the county owns him and pays all his bills. He is still OUR dog...our sweet Plato:-)

The following are pictures of Plato and Kris.

Plato (and NO we did not name him...he came to us already named!)

I love this picture, it is Plato working on attack skills. A handler is NEVER the one to "catch" their own dog with the attack sleeve. This is to teach them that they are NEVER to hurt their handlers.

This is Kris and Plato at a K-9 Demo at the Football Hall of Fame. They do this every year. In this picture he was sniffing our a suspect, who is hiding in the box.

Plato and the Cruiser


Kris and Plato...my hubby looks good in uniform:-)


This is Kris and Plato at another K-9 Demo last summer. See the towel that Kris is holding in his hand? This is how they train the dogs in narcotics. They put these rolled towels in sealed boxes with the various drugs so that they retain the "smell" of the drug. They do not train using real drugs because the drugs can be toxic to the dogs if ingested. Most dog handlers carry emergency medications in their Cruisers so that if their dog ingests drugs on the job they can treat them right away.


Another Demo picture

In this picture he is sniffing out drugs which were hidden in one of the boxes on the stage.

Kris also takes Plato to various schools in the community so the children can see the dog. Plato loves children and the kids love him. These were taken when Kris visiting Alec's Pre School last spring.

All the kids in the various Pre School classes at Alec's school

Alec is on the left in the tan sweatshirt...he was trying to be in control of this whole thing since Plato is "his dog."

Here is Alec standing guard again!

Plato hanging out at home (the gold circle hanging around his neck is his badge!)