Newest El Paso County K

Ronnie Hancock, a deputy with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, said his new partner can be a little bossy.

"He's a little pushy and kind of full of himself, so he tries to push you around and be the boss," Hancock said.

But the veteran deputy is being patient. After all, Styx, the agency's newest K-9 officer, has been on the job less than two weeks.

Styx, an 18-month-old Belgian Malinois, is what Hancock calls a "green" dog, meaning he came to the Sheriff's Office with no training at all. On Wednesday, Hancock put him through basic exercises, like drug detection and obedience training, at the Sheriff's Office's training facility on South Cascade Avenue. Because of his youth and inexperience, Styx can still get excited and lose focus on occasion. But he's already making good progress, according to Hancock.

At 90 pounds, Styx is big for a Belgian Malinois, which typically run in the 60- to 70-pound range.

"He's also long-legged, and pretty tall for a Malinois," Hancock said. "They are usually a little shorter in stature. But Styx had a lot of the attributes that we need for this job, so we kind of overlooked the size."

When evaluating Styx, agency handlers noted that he has a high "hunt drive," meaning he will hunt for what he's looking for until he either finds it or exhausts himself trying, Hancock said. That makes him ideally suited for the job, which involves a lot of drug detection and suspect tracking.

Styx, who joins three other Sheriff's Office K-9s, has large "paw-prints" to fill, according to Hancock. His predecessor, Jinx, was killed in the line of duty in April. Jinx's sacrifice, while tragic and devastating to the department, probably saved lives.

"That night, (Jinx) allowed four officers to go home to their families," said Hancock, who was Jinx's handler and partner. "He's still a big part of our family. Hopefully, Styx will be able to step into those paw-prints and do the job."

Sheriff Joe Roybal said Styx is a welcome addition to the department.

"I am excited to have K9 Styx join our team at the El Paso County Sheriff's Office," Roybal said. "This is an important step forward following the tragic loss of K-9 Jinx and his sacrifice for the community in the line of duty last year. Deputy Hancock and K9 Styx will undoubtedly enhance our delivery of public safety services to the community."

Officers expect Styx's training to be complete in about four months. He has a lot to learn before he can be certified for full duty, but Hancock will spend most of his waking hours with his new four-legged partner in the coming weeks.

"For all intents and purposes, he's my dog," Hancock said. "He lives (in) our home; he's part of the family. So in addition to our training, I do the feeding, bathing and all the other aspects of his care."

When he's ready to hit the streets, Styx will be a "force multiplier" for the Sheriff's Office, Hancock said. A well-trained K-9 can search for missing people, find evidence that the human eye might not catch, and sometimes deescalate tense situations simply by getting out of the police vehicle.

"Just their presence alone gives us the ability to calm situations down," Hancock said. "A lot of people know what K-9s are capable of, so they can calm suspects down just by getting out of the truck."

In the meantime, Hancock and Styx are getting to know each other's personalities and quirks — a process Hancock enjoys.

"Ask any handler and they’ll tell you — it's the best job in the office," he said. "It's just an honor to work with these (K-9s). They do so much for us, and they are 100% loyal. They’re always willing to have our back."

Those aspiring to a law enforcement career with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office can take the next step in becoming a certified peace officer.

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