The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 420

he perceives his handler to be in danger, Bear has bitten four people in the past year. On one such occasion, at Brock's command, he leapt from the police car where Brock had left him. Bear attacked one of two suspects who was violent in his resistance to handcuffs. Brock sees situations where the dog is forced to attack as "negative part of the job," but he realizes that such occasions are sometimes necessary because "we're often confronting dangerous people." But the positive aspects of his work are what he loves to share: the challenge of constantly re-training Bear to "keep him up, keep him sharp;" the relief that Bear has never been threatened or assaulted; the deep bond between him and a dog with whom he spends eight late-night hours in a patrol car and off-hours bathing, grooming and feeding. As a former handler whose dog, now retired from the Canine Corps, lives with him, Cotton can speak about that special bond.

"You become very attached. You spend more time with your dog than your family. Many dog men would rather have a dog as a partner than a man," he admits. "You know the dog is looking out for you. You're his primary responsibility." Brock and Bear, like the other men and dogs in Cincinnati's Canine Corps, "are definitely a team," Brock says.

"He depends on me, and I depend on him." Elizabeth Bookser Barkley is a Cincinnati freelance writer. A I A J. -A ff I Ip'nShore i ikiJ Am (). Women's Large Size Ship 'n Shore Blouse 18.99 reg. 21.99 Ifs called the "Silken Wonder" 'cause if so lush and plush.

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