Deputy Sheriff Barry Upchurch has a special partner, a black, long-haired friend who protects him and can put out 1,200 pounds of pressure per inch of bite.

Luckily, he only bites on command.

Upchurch’s partner is Bear, a 5-year-old German Shepherd. Bear has been with the Story County Sheriff’s Office since March 1997, and he is the only canine on the force.

Originally from Minnesota, Bear was a pet who was donated to the Minneapolis Canine Training Facility, where Upchurch said he chose him and began his training.

“It’s just like training a kid,” Upchurch said. “You have to be patient and take baby steps.”

It took about a year of training for Bear to be ready for a competition. When he started, Bear didn’t even know how to sit and had to learn to be disciplined, Upchurch said. The first command he was taught was how to climb.

The first competition Upchurch and Bear entered was in July 1998, in a regional U.S. Police Canine Association (USPCA) competition in Mt. Pleasant. Bear placed first out of about 40 dogs, Upchurch said.

He also won the Best Rookie Dog award, Upchurch said, which was fitting as it was the first time a rookie dog had taken first place. Bear bested seven dogs from his hometown of Minneapolis, including one of the dogs that he trained with at the Minneapolis Canine Training Facility.

Bear’s first appearance at the USPCA national competition was also in 1998, where he placed 25th overall in the three-day competition. He was also awarded fifth-place honors in the article-search event, in which Bear sniffed out a credit card and a revolver hidden in long grass in a mere 38 seconds, Upchurch said.

“Proper training and consistency” is the key to training a dog, Upchurch said. “He gets plenty of attention. I work with him every day.”

Competitions are usually three days long and include categories such as obedience, agility, article search, suspect search, apprehension and handler protection, he said.

Bear is employed by the Sheriff’s Office mostly for narcotics work, Upchurch said. In November, Bear and Upchurch switched from working at night to the day shift, where they get more chances to sniff out illegal drugs. Apparently, Bear appreciates the more reasonable hours.

“I think Bear likes [days] even better,” he said.

Before obtaining Bear, Upchurch said he had about 20 years of experience training dogs, including a Giant Schnauzer with a professional trainer about seven years ago.

The average age when police dogs retire is around 10 or 12 years, Upchurch said, and when Bear passes away, Upchurch will decide then whether to train another dog.

“They’re very restricting,” Upchurch said. “Dogs are just like humans; if you don’t work with them all the time, they start to get lax.”

Bear’s next chance to show off his skills will be at a regional competition in May in St. Louis, Mo. Last year, Bear placed ninth overall, but Upchurch said he figured Bear would finish higher this year, as he was hurt by a false start in one event in 1999.

“I’d like to do well [this year],” Upchurch said. “It’d be nice to place in the top five.”