Ed. Note: The following content was provided by All American Bail Bonds who is a client of KHTS AM-1220.

K9 Unit Deputy Amy Raniag and her partner, a black labrador named Sstack, came in to the KHTS AM 1220 studio to be on the show “Neighborhood Watch,” sponsored by All American Bail Bonds in Santa Clarita.

On Dec. 4, News Director Perry Smith and Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station interviewed Raniag about her job as a K9 unit deputy.

Here is the transcription of the Q & A from Part 2 of the Dec. 4 “Neighborhood Watch” sponsored by All American Bail Bonds in Santa Clarita:

Perry Smith: Welcome back on your Home Town Station KHTS AM 1220. We’re here on the ‘Neighborhood Watch’ brought to you by All American Bail Bonds in Santa Clarita where we talk about all things Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station related, law enforcement related. Two special guests in the studio with me today, Deputy Josh Dubin who’s on his phone probably tweeting and doing social media stuff as usual with the Sheriff’s Station and Amy Raniag a K9 unit.  What is your patrol area, because you guys said you’re on visibility patrol, a deterrent, and you, Sstack here who is the cutest deputy I’ve ever seen. Sorry Josh.

Amy Raniag: Thank you. I am pretty lucky. I have a very cute partner.

Perry Smith: Yeah. So, he’s trained in bombs, specifically?

Amy Raniag: Correct, correct.

Perry Smith: Now, are the dogs cross-trained or do dogs have a specialty through the training process? What is that like?

Amy Raniag: There are cross-trained dogs out there. Our department, because we are very fortunate and big, we have single-purpose dogs. So, basically, he is only explosive detection where our SCV has patrol dogs where they find felony suspects, we have narcotics dogs on the department, we have gun dogs on the department, so these are all just single-purpose dogs.

Perry Smith: And what is the patrol area like? You’re a Santa Clarita Valley resident?

Amy Raniag: Correct.

Perry Smith: So, do you get to patrol, obviously there’s Metro in the Santa Clarita Valley. I mean do you get to patrol up here or do they assign you throughout, you know what I mean?

Sstack jumps up on Raniag.

Amy Raniag: Oh my gosh. He knows where the cookies are.

Perry Smith: You know, for a dog that works in, we would consider, pretty high-tense situations, he seems pretty relaxed and happy, go-lucky.

Amy Raniag: You know, everytime I pull him out of the car, he thinks it’s time to go to work. So, this type of environment, where he’s supposed to sit and behave, he’s like, ‘No, we’re supposed to go to work. my vest is on. I’m supposed to be looking for things.’ Yes, we have a very large jurisdiction. Sstack and I, mainly you can find us around L.A. Union Station,  Downtown area. I’m on a team of 16 K9’s. Our 16 K9’s were divided up amongst all of L.A. County. We also reach out to other counties because of the Metrolink, other countries such as San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange County have the Metrolink pass through them. So, we’ll provide random visibility checks and it’s all random because we don’t want people to know…

Perry Smith: You don’t want people to know the bomb dog was coming in at 10:30.

Amy Raniag: Exactly. Occasionally people see us out there and they get a little nervous and are like ‘Why are you guys here’ but it’s all random and we like to..

Perry Smith: Just doing your job.

Amy Raniag: Yeah, a change of scenery.

Perry Smith: So, you get to rotate around and go to different areas?

Amy Raniag: Correct.

Perry Smith: Okay, well that’s kind of interesting and little a bit different because normally you’ll be assigned to a Sheriff’s Station and have an area?

Amy Raniag: Yeah, that’s affirmative.

Perry Smith: So, as far as the training process with Sstack, do you train together or..

Amy Raniag: We do. When you become a K9 handler with my team, one of the requirements is that you go to San Antonio, Texas for the K9 training program.

Perry Smith: Is there K9 training experts in Texas or what?

Amy Raniag: It’s through Lackland Air Force Base.

Perry Smith: Oh okay.

Amy Raniag: These are actually TSA dogs. We are a TSA program. They provide bomb detection K9’s throughout the U.S. for airports and mass transit agencies that patrol those areas.

Perry Smith: So, their specialized training is the bomb detection aspect of it?

Amy Raniag: Correct.

Perry Smith: So if you had a cadaver dog or a drug sniffing dog, it would be trained in a different place?

Amy Raniag: Correct.

Perry Smith: Interesting. What’s that process like? Can we talk about the training, that process at all?

Amy Raniag: Absolutely.

Josh Dubin: You don’t want to get into the top secret stuff.

Amy Raniag: Super top secret.

Perry Smith: I’m not classified. I don’t have the security clearance.

Amy Raniag: Basically, when we have an opening on the K9 team, our department will put out a notification that were looking to expand our team. Deputies across the department with the minimum requirements which is two years at a petrol station with a good eval, yearly eval, can submit to test for it. If you pass the test and you’re selected, then you will go off to Texas for three months. So, you show up as an L.A. County Deputy Sheriff in Texas with people across the nation. You introduce yourself, you give them a small bio and they pair you with a dog. From there, the dog already has the training and they’re now teaching you how to work that dog and learn the training and be a dog handler. It’s a lot different because I’m not only responsible for myself during my shift, I’m also responsible for this crazy guy. I’m also responsible for him 24/7 because he lives with me.  Once you pass that training, they send you back to your station with your dog and certification and say ‘Good luck well see you in a year and put you through some testing.’

Perry Smith: Now, you mentioned you give them some information about yourself. What is that like? Do they want to match up the dog with your personality? Do they match up specific breeds or are they all labradors?

Amy Raniag: Yes, they want to match up your personality with the dog so as my K9 instructor said ‘Goofball dog for a goofball handler’ which is all good with me.

Perry Smith: Okay.

Amy Raniag: You basically give them your background, if you have kids at home, what your property is, if you have other dogs at home. They want to make sure they don’t give you a dog that’s going to clash with pets that your may have at home, granted these dogs aren’t pets. We treat them as working dogs. He doesnt come in the house, he doesn’t live inside, he doesn’t get toys. I’m like the meanest person to my friends, theyre like ‘You’re so mean keeping him outside in the kennel,’ but he loves it, he loves it. Basically, you kinda just tell them a little bit about yourself and they pair you up with a dog.  Like I said, he’s my second dog. He was originally working in the San Francisco airport. My first dog had a medical retirement and Sstack’s handler was injured so, because he belongs to the military, he’s a TSA dog. they said ‘Okay, you’re new dogs in San Francisco, go get him.’ So, we had to start all over again, but I still keep in touch with his former handler. I send him pictures, I make sure that he stays up to date about what Sstack is doing down here in L.A. County.

Perry Smith: Awesome, I want to talk a little bit more about Sspack, Sstack, excuse me. Sorry Sstack. we have to take a quick commercial break here on Home Town Station KHTS for ‘Neighborhood Watch’ brought to you by All American Bail Bonds in Santa Clarita.

“With Us You Are Never Alone”

All American Bail Bonds

23360 W. Valencia Blvd. #E

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

661-255-2245

Call Toll Free: 888-755-2245

24 hours a day — 7 days a week

If loved one in custody and they wish to talk to an All American Bail Bonds representative call:

818-990-0003 or 661-267-6777

CLIENT.SERVICES@ALLAMERICANBAILBONDS.COM