EASTHAMPTON — A glass door to the F.L. Roberts gas station was shattered and the inside ransacked. Some $300 was missing from the cash register, and several cartons of cigarettes and cigars had been taken.

Alarms were ringing. A fresh footprint marked the mud along the side of the business.

The Easthampton Police Department responded to the call around 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday, May 30, for suspected breaking and entering.

Officers held off from entering the building at first to ensure the department’s police dog, Gino, could have a fresh scent to track.

Gino’s handler, Officer Andrew Beaulieu, placed a harness on the dog and said “Such!” which is a German command pronounced “zook.”  This orders Gino to search.

The 17-month-old Belgian Malinois — a breed known for its keen sense of smell — is specialized in sniffing out narcotics and tracking people.

Gino picked up a hard track at the gas station at 124 Northampton St. and followed it south.

Beaulieu held the leash, following at a steady pace. Gino’s nose was down and he was giving a strong pull, Beaulieu wrote in a narrative.

Beaulieu spent about two months training with Gino, learning the dog’s behavior when he picks up scents. Beaulieu said he doesn’t know exactly how to explain how Gino tracks.

“I just know,” he said. “I can feel him.”

Gino tracked down Northampton Street and made a right on Dragon Circle, a residential neighborhood.

His track lasted just over half a mile, ending in front of a driveway where a sergeant had already discovered three suspects, strengthening probable cause and ultimately leading to three arrests.

Big asset

While police had found the suspects before Gino’s arrival, it was the dog’s first successful track.

He joined the department in March, funded by a $25,000 Stanton Foundation K-9 Unit Acquisition grant. Beaulieu and Gino have been training together for nine weeks.

Police Chief Robert Alberti said in a previous interview that K-9 units are critical for a small community like Easthampton, which has roughly 16,000 people and about 30 sworn officers.

He said search grids that would normally involve a dozen officers can be narrowed and completed quickly by a single dog.

“The K-9 team has been an incredible asset,” Alberti said.

The police cruiser was retrofitted for Gino. Fans keep Gino cool while Beaulieu is out of the vehicle responding to a call. The vehicle has a heat sensor system that detects when temperatures rise too high for Gino. The system will turn on the car, roll the windows down and an alarm will sound.

And if Beaulieu or other officers are attacked, the doors on the car can be automatically opened, allowing Gino to be deployed.

While a K-9 is a significant tool for the department, having Gino is life-changing for Beaulieu.

Beaulieu, 26, said he grew up with a family in public service — his father was a firefighter in Holyoke and his mother worked at Mercy Hospital.

“It’s in my blood,” he said of serving the community.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2012 from Westfield State University and is now pursuing his master’s. He became a special officer for the department in 2013 and was sworn in as a full-time officer in December 2014.

He had to give up his miniature dachshund Cruiser, who now lives with his parents. And at home, he created a kennel for Gino in his garage and removed trees from the backyard so Gino can run around.

And every day, for at least 10 minutes, Beaulieu does a training exercise with Gino. Beaulieu records the weather during the track, length of the track and Gino’s behavior to observe trends.

As a handler, Beaulieu has made a commitment to Gino for at least five years.

On call

Beaulieu still works the 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift at the department as before, but now that he has Gino, he’s on call 24 hours a day. So when a call comes in just a few hours after midnight, the two of them wake up and promptly head to the scene.

Their first call was around 3 a.m. Friday, May 19. A car was seen driving at high speed, passing stop signs and swerving into lawns, according to a police narrative by Officer Jared Pabis.

The vehicle lost control and struck the inside granite curb of the rotary on Main Street, Pabis wrote, clipped a utility pole with the left mirror and hit a pedestrian sign before coming to a stop.

The driver began to run and Pabis ran after him, but the suspect jumped a fence and disappeared from his line of sight, Pabis said.

For tracking, Beaulieu has to make sure Gino’s bladder is empty to ensure he’s focused on following the scent, rather than trying to find a place where he can relieve himself. He also does not feed Gino before or during the shift to make sure the dog isn’t thinking about food.

Beaulieu led Gino to the driver’s seat and picked up a solid scent. In the end, though, the search was called off because the suspect had left in another vehicle.

‘Everyone loves a puppy’

In the two weeks Gino has been with the department, he has been deployed for three tracks.

Besides tracking people and sniffing out drugs, he is trained in physically restraining suspects and coming to the aid of officers who are in physical danger.

Gino is also a big tool for community outreach. Alberti said engaging with people in the city is just as important as patrol.

“Everyone loves a puppy,” Alberti said. “Officers have adopted him as a fellow officer.”

On Big Rig Day, May 21, Alberti said Gino was “smothered” with kids.

The community has come together to help Gino. Alberti said James G. Hayden of Easthampton Animal Hospital will offer veterinary services for Gino at no charge, as well as food.

To make sure Gino has room to run around in Beaulieu’s backyard, officers helped take down trees and uproot stumps, Alberti said. K&J Tree Service donated equipment to chip the large pile of brush.

The organization Vested Interest in K9s will donate a bulletproof vest for Gino once he is fully grown.

“The community support has been amazing,” Alberti said.

Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.

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