K9 Fly, Jacinto City’s new dope dog

Jacinto City’s Sergeant A. Seydler with K9 Fly (Photo edited by Allan Jamail)
Jacinto City’s Sergeant A. Seydler with K9 Fly (Photo edited by Allan Jamail)

By Allan Jamail

June 23, 2021 – Jacinto City, TX. – The Jacinto City Police Department (JCPD) has a narcotics sniffing K9 program smaller cities would love to have. Under the direction of Police Chief Joe Ayala, Sergeant A. Seydler, a 9 year veteran of JCPD, is the K9 handler responsible for maintaining the care and training of their dog. Seydler keeps the dog at his home, and they’re subject to call out any day or time. JCPD provides the dogs food that comes from chewy.com, a highly regarded top quality animal food company.

Fly is the K9’s name, and according to Sgt. Seydler, the JCPD got him last November after he made a call to the Houston K9 Academy requesting a K9 after their previous dog Kyra passed away. Within hours, Jaz Stanz, the owner of the academy, informed him K9s4COPS, a nonprofit foundation, would purchase Fly from the academy and donate it to JCPD.

Fly is a 4 year old Malinois/shepherd from Europe. The breed is known for their high energy that loves to put their intelligence and intense focus to work. He’s trained to sniff-out narcotics and can track human scent exceptionally well.

Seydler and Fly trained together for a few weeks at the Houston K9 Academy before putting him to work on duty. Fly’s been instrumental in helping to make several narcotic arrests; he has to be continually trained and kept qualified for making criminal cases subject to convictions in criminal court cases.

Seydler takes Fly on training exercises at various places like the Galena Park Middle and High School, shopping malls and food courts, so the K9 is exposed to a wide array of odors so there’s nothing foreign-smelling to throw his narcotic-tracking off.

Fly recently received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from a non-profit organization, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. This saved the JCPD $1,200. The vest is custom tailored for him; Seydler provided the dog’s lengths and chest measurements.

North Shore Animal Hospital Veterinarian Francis “Frank” Martin provides the medical needs to Fly. For routine treatments and vaccines, JCPD pays for these, but should there be a serious medical injury or illness, the city has a medical insurance policy for those expenses.