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the scene of a crime before police arrive. insurance fraud and forfeiture.
In narcotics training, Angarone says, Angarone heard about Bela—a female
trainers have a dog focus on a towel placed Belgian Malinois at a breeder called
in a garbage can filled with marijuana (one Fontaine d’or Malinois in Ontario, Can- GRAND
of the most odoriferous illegal drugs), ada—from another trainer. He was told
which the dog perceives as a toy. In the that she was a good dog with high drive,
beginning, the trainer teases the dog which is a dog that is highly active both
dog can’t see and has to use its nose to started working with her immediately. OPENING
with the towel, then throws it. After a dog mentally and physically and requires a
lot of exercise and mental stimulation.
brings it back, they play a little tug of war.
Angarone purchased Bela after get-
Then the game gets a little harder. A
trainer tosses the towel someplace the ting approval from the prosecutor and
find. That’s when the dogs begin to put At the time, she was three months old,
their pot-sniffing skills to use. “They and training usually starts somewhere
associate the smell with their toy, and it is between 11 and 16 months. Because of State-of-the-Art Facility
a game to find their toy,” her early start, Bela was
Angarone says. out on the road by the
* * * ‘It is important age that many dogs are 24 Hour
Choosing dogs to just getting started.
become K-9s is not for the dogs and Angarone says that Emergency
straightforward. Even their handlers to with Bela—who is
though certain breeds trained to find the scent On Call
work better than oth- get used to each of narcotics—he has
ers, dogs still need to be other and their “done searches in occu-
tested to see if they have pied houses, abandoned
what it takes to become capabilities.’ buildings, buses, tractor
good patrol dogs. Anga- trailers, airplanes, open
rone says dogs that –Mercer County areas and cars.” Now
come from overseas, for Prosecutor 5, she has been respon-
example, may be afraid sible for the seizure of
of things they haven’t Angelo Onofri more than $2 million in
seen before. Or, dogs currency and more than
may be afraid of slippery $3 million in narcotics.
floors, dark rooms or dif- He and Bela do about
ferent types of noises. 225 searches a year, at all times of the day Call Us Today, See Us Today!
“If a dog doesn’t respond to gunshots and night. These searches may be “a sniff
or does respond by running away, that of a residence” in a narcotics investigation
dog would not be a candidate for patrol after search warrants have been served 609-800-2018 I CAPITOLSMILESNJ.COM
school,” he says. and people detained. Or it may follow a call
Angarone went to elementary school from an officer who has stopped a car and 101 South Warren Street,
in Trenton, then moved to Hamilton suspects narcotics but does not have prob- Trenton, NJ 08608
(where he currently lives) for middle able cause. If the dog smells the scent of a
school and graduated from Steinert narcotics odor, it gives them more reason
High School. Angarone’s parents were to apply for a search warrant.
in the restaurant business for 40 years, Angarone says the dogs have become ACCEPTING
first in Trenton and then at the QP Eat- an essential part of police modern police MOST Easy access from Rt. 29, Rt. 1,
ery in Hamilton, but Angarone, who work. “Since its inception, the impor- Rt. 206 and State Street
had an uncle in law enforcement, always tance of the relationship between law INSURANCES,
wanted to be policeman. enforcement and their canine partners INCLUDING • Oral Surgery
He studied criminal justice at South- has been demonstrated time and time
ern Vermont College in Bennington, again,” he said. NJFAMILYCARE • Invisalign
got a master’s from Fairleigh Dickin- “They are like an arm of law enforce- & ALL NJ STATE • Root Canal
son University, and then went to the ment; they hear and smell stuff that we • Implants
Police Academy in Sea Girt. He started can’t; and their noses are much better EMPLOYEE
as a detective with the Mercer County than ours,” he added. “Canines are fear- INSURANCES • Dentures
Prosecutor’s Office in 1998. Angarone less, logical and possess special skills • Crowns and More
was assigned to the narcotics unit for that their human counterparts don’t pos-
11 years, four of those for the Drug sess. They enhance the mission of law
Enforcement Administration, which still enforcement by providing their unique No Insurance?
gives him calls. He also hears from local capabilities to the tasks of policing.”
police departments for assistance if they In-House Discounts
do not have canines. and Financing Available
His former chief, Al Paglione, was the
first canine handler at his office, which
is the only prosecutor’s office in the
state that has a K-9 unit. When Paglione
was promoted to a higher rank, an open-
ing was posted for another dog handler
and Angarone got the job. AMERICA’S TOP DENTISTS
Angarone has been certified as a
trainer through the state police. He 188 Scotch Road,
had one pet dog growing up, and also Ewing, NJ 08628
a trained black lab before Bela, his cur- SPECIAL OFFER
rent police dog. When the lab died, he
trained his pet yellow lab but, he says, 609-530-1535
“he wasn’t up to my standards; his drive
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In addition to his assignment as FREE TEETH CLEANING
canine handler, he is also a sergeant With Coupon For new patients without insurance
of detectives, supervising four units: Expires: 8/31/17
domestic violence, economic crime,
August 2017 | Ewing Observer9