Drug dog retires with 10 years under collar
Published: December 28, 2005
After 10 years on the job, “Chiva,” the Sonoma County Sheriff Department’s drug sniffing dog, is retiring in March.
Purchased with money from the Edward Byrne fund, named after a New York City police officer killed in the line of duty, Chiva was trained in Cherry Valley and is the only K9 assigned to the Sonoma County Narcotics Task Force.
Chiva, a 12-year-old black Labrador retriever, has more than 700 search warrants and probation searches under his collar and had four different handlers during his career.
Sgt. Chris Bertoli of the narcotics task force said Chiva’s first successful seizure was the most memorable. He detected four pounds of methamphetamine inside a plastic pipe that was buried in a hole under grapevines that were stockpiled for burning in the Healdsburg area.
Chiva’s largest find was 26 pounds of methamphetamine in a storage locker and Chiva also detected heroin hidden in the mattress of a crib. The dog also found 170 pounds of marijuana in the Santa Rosa area, Bertoli said.
“Chiva” is the street name for black tar heroin, Bertoli said.
Chiva and his current handler, Detective Andrew Cash, were recognized this month by the United States Department of Justice for their outstanding contribution to law enforcement.
Chiva also became a member of the “million dollar club” this year for seizing more than $1 million in controlled substances and more than $1 million in asset forfeitures in his career.
The K9 was also involved in hundreds of school and civic presentations. Chiva will continue to live with detective Cash and will be replaced by another trained K9 in April 2006.
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