Meet Ivan Jenssens. He’s a very nice guy, I’ve met him.  He has a wife and kids and he has a funny job compared to your job and mine. While you and I may put on a suit to go to work, Ivan wears a ‘Bite Suit’ designed to be bitten by highly trained police dogs. You see,  Ivan’s job can be described many ways but the most eloquent description is a single word …bait.

Ivan volunteered to be the ‘bad guy’ during the recent Police Dog Agility Trials held in Lindsay, CA.  I don’t know what they pay him, but the man needs a raise. Tell me, how much would you charge to have highly skilled dogs chase you and take you down.  HARD.

In a very ironic twist, Man the hunter became the hunted for an afternoon.

How do you define a good day at work? Ivan was supposed to endure the attacks of fifteen dogs but he only made it through four.

So, how was YOUR day?

“Cry ‘havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war.”

Shakespeare

Ivan’s job was to antagonize an officer and his dog. After getting the dog all amped up, he jumped into the passenger side of an old beat up car and waited for the officer to release his hound at him.

I don’t know how fast a German Shepherd can run, but it seemed that these dogs could fly.  They hit Ivan so hard that I saw the car rock side to side before he could manage to open the door and try to run safety.  Oh, and by the way, should you be chased by one of these dogs, the advice of most professionals attending the event was don’t run – it only increases the fun factor for the dogs.

Once they get their jaws on you your options are limited. Bleeding is the most popular option, followed by stopping and listening to the nice officer as he advises you of your rights.

For the record, these were some of the happiest, most well behaved dogs I have ever seen until the ‘magic’ words were spoken that turned them from docile to dangerous.

I suppose you could say that Ivan makes the streets safer by allowing these highly skilled dogs to train at his expense. I want to add my thanks to Ivan and those who train these amazing animals but I do have a question…

…are you guys nuts?