New K-9 officer joins Tribal police

By Alexander Bliven

Smoke Signals intern

The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a new officer trained in narcotics detection and tracking, who will help safely identify illicit and harmful substances.

However, this officer doesn’t wear a uniform, drive a patrol car or carry a firearm: He’s a friendly, fluffy, Springer Spaniel.

On June 18, Tribal Police Officer and K-9 Handler Tyler Mursch and partner, Kishkish, completed their professional K-9 certification training through the American Society of Canine Trainers International. Kishkish is a Chinuk Wawa word which means, “to hunt something.”

Kishkish, just 18 months old, officially joined the department June 24 and is currently its only K-9, as well as its youngest officer.

Mursch, his handler, has worked for the Tribal Police Department for two years and has spent eight years total in law enforcement. Before moving to Grand Ronde, he worked for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Montana. He has also served in the U.S. Army and worked as a wildland firefighter.

As a newer member of the police department, Mursch approached Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight about adding a K-9 to the force.

“When I took this job, I expressed to Chief McKnight that I could help build a new K-9 unit because I’ve done that prior to this,” Mursch said, “I also knew a trainer, Molly McKinney, in Montana who trained my last dog.”

Together, they discussed the type of dog they wanted—one friendly enough for community members to pet but also capable of narcotics detection and tracking.

“As soon as chief said, ‘Let’s do it,’ we were on it,” Mursch said.

McKinney, a certified master instructor with the American Society of Canine Trainers International, who holds a master’s degree in canine developmental science, obtained Kishkish as a puppy from a hunting dog breeder and provided initial training for him in Helena, Montana. Mursch traveled there later and he spent three weeks completing required handler training before returning to Oregon with Kishkish.

Kishkish continues to receive training from Mursch.

“I do at least two trainings a day,” he said.

In addition to obedience training involving sitting, laying down and staying, Mursch regularly conducts narcotics detection and tracking exercises.

“He’s imprinted on four odors and he’s proven he can find fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine,” Mursch said. “The other thing he does is tracking. I can put him on a track and he’ll follow somebody who gets lost or somebody who runs away from us.”

SMOKE SIGNALS VIDEO | K-9 Kishkish joins Tribal Police

During his previous law enforcement work in Montana, Mursch used a K-9 to track juveniles as well as Elders who wandered away from care facilities.

“Tracking is not just for law enforcement,” he said. “It can be used for search and rescue and a lot of other things that we can use Kiskish for.”

Mursch said the dog’s name was chosen with help from students from the Willamina School District.

“Officer JJ Flynn, who works with us, is the school resource officer for the Willamina School District,” he said. “The kids came up with a couple names. I decided the one that worked best…K-9 names kind of need to be short. They don’t really understand long words so it needs to be a short name.”

Mursch said being a K-9 handler can be challenging but also rewarding.

“It’s not easy; there’s never a break day for me,” he said, noting Kishkish’s high energy and eagerness to work.

With a laugh, he added “Everybody thinks that he’s way cooler than me, which hurts my feelings a little bit—but you know, I get it.”

Despite the challenges, Mursch enjoys the partnership he has developed with the dog.

“My previous K-9 and Kishkish both live at home with me,” he said. “Working dogs especially build really strong relationships with their handlers and anywhere I go, he follows me. I would say we have a really strong relationship and he’s adorable, which makes it easy.”

That relationship extends beyond just working hours, as Kishkish still enjoys time for play, whether it’s catching balls or chasing toys.

“He’s got this furry little tail with a handle on it kind of like a cat toy. And he’s a hunting breed so he just goes nuts for it,” Mursch said.

Mursch is confident Kishkish will be a great fit for the department.

“He’s super tough; that’s one thing I know about him,” he said. “We did a track and he went through a bunch of blackberries. I didn’t even realize until afterwards that I saw his nose was kind of cut up but he was like, ‘Let’s go, I don’t wanna do this!’ while I was putting ointment on it.”

Mursch hopes people who see him and Kishkish around the community won’t hesitate to stop by for a visit.

“If you see us walking around, go ahead and feel free to come over and pet him,” he said. “Everybody does that thing where they try and hold out their hand so he can smell it first but Kishkish would say, ‘I don’t need that —you can just pet me.’ He’s a super friendly dog. Just feel free to come over and say hi.”