KATE THE ISP DOG

I first met Kate at ISP where I was a custodian.  She would come to work with Larry Hayhurst in the Brands Board Office.  I would bring her treats and share a few moments getting to know her. 

Kate had come to ISP as a stray.  She would often be seen by employees of the ISP in the empty fields near the Meridian complex.  She appeared to have been abandoned, and was living off the land (she was a good mouser, and was known to have panhandled leftovers at the nearby McDonalds.  She was very thin and many at ISP grew concerned for her. 

Eventually, animal control was called.  After a few unsuccessful attempts at capture, Kate was finally in custody.   It was then that Larry Hayhurst stepped up and gave her a home. 

Larry and Kate became great partners.  Each day Kate would accompany Larry to work at the Brands Board Office, where she would make the rounds of the ISP halls, greeting her friends, and collecting goodies along the way.  She became one of the best known and loved characters at ISP headquarters.  She acquired many friends during her 8+ years on duty.    

Last year I heard through the grapevine that Larry had to find a new home for her.  I was hesitant to take her as I already had two dogs and knew my husband would not be pleased if I brought home another.  So I waited to see if he had found her a home.  After about a month I could not stand it any longer.  I wanted her which was all there was to it, so I went and picked her up. 

She is the best dog I have ever had.  She is smart, gentle and alert.  Aside from her love for cats (of which I have two) she fit right into the family.  I only had to tell her twice that she could not chase or eat the cats. She still wants to eat them but she reluctantly leaves them alone sticking her nose up in the air as they pass her.  She can talk too—she says “I love you – Beautiful - Riley” (my daughters name) and a few more (ask Kathy about that). 

This Fall I changed shifts and started working 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  I found myself often times being the first person to enter the Probation and Parole building in the morning and it was a bit disquieting.  We work with some intimidating people and I was not to comfortable walking across the parking lot in the early morning gloom and entering a big dark building alone.  I have no self-defense training and can not carry a gun to work.

That is when I started bringing Kate with me.  I thought that she would at least deter anyone trying to approach me in the darkness.  If I could get her comfortable with how things work here and what is normal then maybe she would start to notice what is not normal.  In the mornings when I am alone I let her loose in the building and she will stay with me as I go about my duty’s.  Several times a day we walk around the building and the grounds. 

Two weeks ago she took me right to a siphon hose that was located in our parking lot over by our State cars.  With the high price of gas these days it is not unlikely for someone to want to scrounge some of the States gas.  We are going to get locked gas caps on all the State vehicles now.

This week on our morning stroll Kate insisted on going around a tree.  I thought she smelled a cat or squirrel and was reluctant to go behind the tree.  The grass had just been watered and it was wet and I did not want to get my shoes soaked.  She gently insisted, so I went.  She just reached down and sniffed something when I realized it was a knife. A rather large lock blade pocket knife with a 4-inch long blade.  My eyes went wide and I guardedly picked it up and took it to my supervisor (Carolyn Tschirgi).  She took it to the Duty Officer at the time, Brandon Sutherland a Senior Officer with the Sex Offender Unit, and he sent out an alert.  We have offenders in here all the time and it could be a very dangerous thing if the offenders are bringing in or placing knifes within an effortless distance. 

She has received a raise from some of our officers.  They are bringing lots of treats and her girlish figure may suffer a bit.  She has proven a skilful new asset to our team here at Probation and Parole.

I am very proud of her. 

(Webmaster's note: I'm sorry the photos of Kate are so small but that is how they came to me. I attempted to enlarge the photos but they were then much too grainy. I will attempt to get larger photos.)