Mansfield police bring in the big dog

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Mansfield’s newest police officer is set to take a bite out of crime.

Tex, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, joined the police force in November after taking a four-week training course at the Hill Country Dog Center. He and his partner, Officer Frank Kee Jr., have hit the streets, where they will assist on patrol, locate narcotics, track suspects and hold the perimeter for SWAT. Tex will also protect Kee.

“A lot goes back to what they are bred for,” said Officer Josh Walley, who is also a canine handler for the Mansfield Police Department. “German shepherds are protective, but they are prone to hip dysplasia. Holland created a more agile German shepherd (the Belgian Malinois) that’s smaller and thinner to take over police and military work.”

Walley worked with the department’s last dog, Stache, for almost seven years before the dog was medically retired last fall due to two herniated discs in his spine. Stache still lives with Walley and his family, where he gets to be a normal dog now.

“He’s enjoying retirement and stealing chicken nuggets,” Walley said. “We keep them on a pretty strict regimen (when they’re working). They don’t get bones or toys. The first time that he got to have people food was after he retired. Now we have created a monster.”

Before retiring, Stache helped take 300 kilos of meth off the streets in 2021, and helped make several big cases with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI, Walley said. He also deployed with SWAT.

Mansfield has used canines since 1988, Walley said.

“Some officers are stand-offish,” Walley said. “Mansfield does a lot of training with the department. Officers do a full day of training with the dogs when they are hired.”

The dogs work primarily with one handler, their partner. To deploy the dog to detain a suspect, the handler has to be able to justify the use of force, just like if they used pepper spray, Walley and Kee said.

“The goal is not to cause damage,” Walley said. “They are trained to bite and hold. If the suspect struggles, the dogs apply more pressure.”

Tex tends to get excited when going on patrol, in fact, he tends to get excited about a lot of things, Kee said. Tex is very social, he said, and enjoys meeting new people.

“Stache didn’t embrace people,” Walley said. “Tex will want to give you a hug.”

While the dogs are also good for public relations, people should not approach a police dog when it’s on duty, Kee explained, unless the handler gives the OK.

“It’s like working with a 3-year-old,” Walley said. “That’s how they act.”

So far, Tex has peed all over the SWAT bags and destroyed the wires in a police car, Kee said.

During his career, Stache did battle with a skunk.

“When we were on track, looking for a suspect in the woods, he had a behavior change,” Walley remembered. “He went inside a burrow and came out with a skunk in his mouth. It sprayed both of us, me and the officer with me. I had a brand-new Tahoe that smelled like a skunk for three months.”

Walley will soon be getting a new canine partner, hopefully this spring. Like Tex, the dog will come from the Police Dog Centre Holland.

“They have such good bloodlines,” Walley said. “They need to have confidence and drive.”

Mansfield paid $15,000 for Tex and his training, the officers said. He lives with Kee and his family. He said his two children love the dog, and tell him good night every evening. If he stays healthy, Tex could be on the force for up to eight years, he said.

“This is a dream job,” Kee said. “We love dogs. This takes a passion you have and get to live every day.”