Jacksonville Police Department has added a new officer — a ‘paw’-ficer, if you will — and his name is Cyrus.The Belgian Malinois, just shy of two years old, joined the department in early summer and is partnered with JPD Patrol Officer Kevin Ray. Cyrus succeeds Ares, a Belgian Malinois who was paired with JPD Sgt. Jordan Poeschel.
Ray, 34, has been with the department since March 2021. He became interested in working dogs while in Kuwait, stationed with the Illinois Air National Guard. The military dogs, he said, were assigned to checkpoints, searching incoming contractors and vehicles.
“I worked side-by-side with multiple dogs,” Ray said. “It was kind of fascinating to watch them search a vehicle. It was cool watching those dogs and their relationship with their handlers.”
When he joined JPD, Ray found himself spending a lot of time with Poeschel and Ares, watching and learning how the pair worked. When Ares needed to be medically retired, Ray applied to work with the department’s new dog.
Cyrus is trained in detecting narcotics, tracking people and finding things. Dogs’ higher sense of smell means they can detect human odor when searching buildings, looking for people, or sniffing evidence left behind after a crime, said JPD Deputy Chief Doug Thompson.
“Another important tool is handler protection,” Thompson said. “Canines are trained to protect their handler in the event that they are being attacked by a suspect.”
During training, when he’s successful, Cyrus is rewarded with a hard rubber ball with a loop attached. For real-world successes, he gets a tug toy.
Off-duty, Cyrus lives in a building segregated from the Ray family’s rural home; the dog is not treated as a pet at work, either.
“You can tell a difference when he’s going to work,” Ray said. “There were nine dogs total in our [training class] — seven Malinois and two [German] shepherds. He was the most aggressive in class. It was kind of a running joke that no one ever wanted to be around him.”
Thompson said the $14,500 combined cost of the dog and the pair’s two-month training was covered by an insurance payout for Ares, whose initial purchase and training were paid by the Citizens Police Academy Alumni group.
Ares is spending his retirement years with Poeschel.
Ray, a 2008 graduate of Jacksonville High School, attended Lincoln Land Community College and Midwest Training Institute before joining the Air National Guard. He and his wife have three children.
