- April 25, 2024
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Ormond Beach Police K-9 Officer Keaton Labrie gets to work with his best friend every day.
That’s the coolest part about being a K-9 officer, Labrie said. His black Labrador Rex doesn’t argue with him, and he doesn’t complain about where they eat lunch. But he does get excited each time they go to work, and Labrie said that puts a smile on his face.
OBPD currently have two K-9 officers, both trained in narcotic dectection. Each week the K-9s and their officers train for five and a half hours off different narcotic odors to keep them on their toes—or paws.
Labrie has been part of OBPD’s K-9 unit since September, 2016, and he’s been catching bad guys with Rex since. Together, they parole Ormond Beach in their cruiser—Labrie in the front, and Rex in his kennel in the back seat.
“I’m just the guy holding the leash, but Rex does all the hard work,” Labrie said.
Here are some things people might not know about being a K-9 officer.
Do officers form a bond with their K-9’s?
“Oh absolutely,” Labrie said. “I spend more time with him than I do my family.”
Labrie said he considers Rex a coworker, but they have to change roles once at home where Rex can act and play like a normal dog.
“He’s definitely just a dog at the house,” Labrie said. “So we play with him, my family plays with him, and at work he’s just a totally different animal. He knows when we’re at work, so we change roles that way between home life and work life.”
Whenever Rex hears Labrie start to get dressed for work, he perks up.
“He hears my belt get picked up and he hears the snaps on my keepers and he starts getting antsy,” Labrie said. “And then once I pick up his leash and his collar, he’s just all excited. He’s ready to go to work.”
“I’m just the guy holding the leash, but Rex does all the hard work."
Keaton Labrie, OBPD K-9 officer
There are times where Labrie is unable to take Rex with him to work, such as court days. When those days come around, Rex also knows.
“If he sees that I’m starting to walk out or put him in his kennel, he’ll start getting real sad,” Labrie said. “You could see it in his face. His eyes get real heavy and he knows he’s not going to work with me at that time.”
Are you ever scared when you’re on the job and something happens?
“All the time,” Labrie said. “I’m always worried one, about my safety, and two, his safety. Getting in a car accident, he could seriously get injured, [or] working him on the street. We have backup officers that stand by usually with someone while we’re working him around a vehicle, but you never know what happens if someone wants to hurt me or hurt the dog. Sometimes people booby-trap their cars to hurt the dog and those are all things that we have to be aware of out there.”
Many children want to be police officers when they grow up. What would you say to one who says ‘I want to be a K-9 officer?’
“I’d say it’s the best job in the world,” Labrie said.
