Garaway’s new safety dog program innovative way to add layer of security

The Garaway School District has never experienced an active-shooter circumstance. The hope is that it never will, but in taking a proactive stance in a nation where school shootings are on the rise, the Garaway school board recently took steps to bring in a new concept in school security: Sailor, a Belgian Malinois dog that is trained to attack and protect in an active-shooter circumstance.

For Garaway Superintendent Dr. James Millet, this new concept was worth investment.

“We started researching possibilities in adding another layer of safety for our students, and as we were researching, we saw that people were training K-9 dogs for a variety of duties, and it seemed to make sense,” Millet said.

Eventually the district connected with Skool Dogs, a company from the East Coast that has begun identifying the very best in training dogs and teaching them to perform a variety of actions related to an invasive shooter scenario.

The concept is fairly new. Brandon Womack, managing partner with Skool Dogs, said there are only three current Skool Dogs animals actively in place including schools in Florida, New York and New Jersey. Garaway marks the fourth school to initiate this historic program, and Millet is excited they are able to add this level of security to the district.

“You can’t put a price on the safety of our kids,” Millet said. “We were so impressed with the way Skool Dogs operates and trains its animals. The idea is to utilize the dogs as a deterrent in both detecting ammunition and guns in the school as well as responding to a shooting situation. The bottom line is we want to take care of our kids, and if that meant investing in something that few schools have done in the nation, we felt it was a great step. We were motivated by the love for our kids.”

Area news media outlets, some Garaway staff and others got to see a demonstration of the Skool Dogs approach to safety and reacting to a shooter on Friday, Jan. 31 at the high school, where Sailor showed exactly how quickly and expertly he can respond to an active shooter.

Sailor, working with handler Jason Wallick, displayed a unique ability to quickly sprint through all types of activity including people screaming, running, lying on the ground and creating obstacles to the shooter.

The demonstration allowed Skool Dogs partner and trainer Joe Nicholas to showcase exactly how Sailor and Wallick work together to take down a person wielding a gun.

Oddly enough, Skool Dogs know no commands. They simply respond to a gunshot and react quickly and precisely.

“I train for the arms because that is where the gun is,” Nicholas said. “Once he engages, he doesn’t let go until the handler deals with the situation how he sees fit. Sailor gives the handler a chance to engage the shooter more effectively and save our children because now the shooter has to contend with the dog and the man with the gun who is trying to stop him. Now the shooter is worrying about themselves. If that gives one child a chance to escape, then it’s worth it.”

Nicholas said this new concept in school safety can change the landscape. He said it is time to take charge of school-shooting situations in a new way.

“I have studies (school shootings) for nine years, and we have never won,” Nicholas said. “When law enforcement arrives at these situations, it’s always over. We need something to protect our children and our faculty.”

Sailor will be very different from a working police dog. Each Skool Dogs animal is trained to coexist with students and provide a calming, therapeutic component in addition to its other duties. Sailor is able to detect weapons and ammunition wherever it is stationed. It will be able to detect gunfire much quicker than a human and is trained to go after an intruder with a weapon in the case of an emergency.

Not only do the dogs provide safety, they have already shown benefits in many other ways including connecting with students who have been antisocial and even enticing students who don’t talk to any people to talk to them.

“These dogs become school mascots,” Nicholas said.

Skool Dogs Inc. has nearly 100 years in law enforcement, corrections, military and private security experience with more than 50 of those years handling and training canine teams. They train differently for schools because their dogs are trained through play and taught to be friendly with students.

Skool Dogs uses a patent-pending specialized canine training program that responds to the sound of gunfire and engages a shooter. Certified Skool Dogs are social, kid-friendly and integrated into any school culture seamlessly. They are a proactive approach to school safety and security.

While a world without the need for such protection would be ideal, it is not the case.

“We live in a world where school shootings are becoming more abundant,” Millet said. “It is a problem, and while we as a district are addressing the mental-health component, we are trying to be proactive to give our kids a solid foundation. We are mentoring, doing character education, but we also need to be prepared when these things occur.”

Millet said the safety of each child within this community is the district’s highest priority, leading the district to explore every possible safety measure. That included the addition of new physical deterrents, video surveillance and a host of preventative mental-health components. Additionally the board passed a resolution to allow for armed staff at Garaway schools.

Millet said the new Skool Dogs program is simply an added level of security for the school and community.

“We are working in conjunction with our emergency responders on a daily basis and will bring their presence into our buildings as often as possible,” Millet said. “This is just an effort to improve response time in an emergency situation.”

Not only is this project done in conjunction with local law enforcement, Wallick said Sugarcreek Veterinarian Clinic is handling all of the veterinary services for Sailor.

While it is a new concept, Skool Dogs has impressed Millet and the Garaway school board as it takes steps to be proactive in the fight against school violence.