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Maria Vazquez: Guess who's here? You don't want to miss this. We'll be right back.
Announcer: Welcome to Mondays with Maria, presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS Superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.
Maria Vazquez: Hi everyone. One of the most requested guests is here with us today: our district police canine meet, Coco, and Sergeant Brian Howard, Coco's Handler. They are our canine team. And Brian, I am sure she gets a lot of attention when you are out in our schools.
Sergeant Brian Howard: Yes. Coco gets all of the attention. I'm used to that. I've done canine for 25 years now. Wow. So, I'm used to the dogs getting the attention, but Coco is what I refer to as OCPS’s most famous employee. Anytime we go to one of the schools, you, you hear on the radio Coco's here and some of the staff comes running, they need to take pictures with Coco. They need to see Coco. They need their Coco fix as they call it. So, yeah.
Maria Vazquez: Even our board members are enthralled with Coco. Yes. So she's been with the district now for about three years. And you have been with us for almost two years, correct? And tell us a little bit about how you got into this very unique field.
Sergeant Brian Howard: So I started as a canine handler many years ago in New Jersey. I went into law enforcement, realized that I needed, I wanted to go into canine when my, my mom and dad said I couldn't have a dog. So I, I grew up, got my own house, got a job, found out that the, the department I worked for had canine. I'm like, well, that's perfect. I, I really like the, to, to get into canine. It's really interesting. And you know, it's different working with a dog than it is as a human. As Coco goes running
Maria Vazquez: Off. Yeah, she's fine. She's sniffing around.
Sergeant Brian Howard: Right. So it's, it's different working with a dog as you see, it's not, you know, a person as a partner. So, I, I, I did canine nearly, I said for, for 20 some years retired, said, it's time to get out of New Jersey. Let's move to Florida. I moved down to Florida and found a posting for OCPS District Police for a canine handler first. I was like, wow, that's surprising. I didn't know that. Orange County Public Schools had their own police department. Checked that out a little bit and, and realized, didn't realize how large Orange County Public Schools were at the time. And I was like, wow, that's, it's a very large district. This sounds like a really good opportunity. It sounds like a perfect schedule for me. Or I, it's no longer traditional law enforcement, so I'm not really working nights or anything like that. And it's more focused on just the, the kids and the schools and, and all of that. And I, that's one aspect that I love is to take Coco into the elementary schools and do demonstrations with them. Talk about, you know, what Coco's job is and how she works and, and stuff like that.
Maria Vazquez: Oh, that, that's wonderful. So many school districts are now acquiring canines as part of their safety and security measures. So could you tell us what a typical day looks like for you and Coco?
Sergeant Brian Howard: So typically, in the morning, I get up at about 4:15, 4:30 in the morning
Maria Vazquez: Early riser.
Sergeant Brian Howard: I'm an early riser. Coco is not. So, when I, I, I'll get up, I'll get out of bed. She slides right over into my spot and takes over with that. I go, I get her breakfast ready, get stuff ready to go to work. I let her know, Coco, your breakfast is ready. Please come to the kitchen. At that point, she'll get up, she'll come in, she'll eat, she eats her food, and then she's like, oh, I still have time. If it goes right back to the bed, <laugh> until she knows it's time to go, she'll go outside and, and we, we head to work. Our typical day at work is going to high school, a couple of middle schools, and doing some random weapon screenings. Sometimes we'll visit elementary school. Do a demonstration. Coco's also present at the board meetings for when the public is here and coming in. So even the staff, the staff loves to see her.
Maria Vazquez: Oh, they do.
Sergeant Brian Howard: You can't, you can't walk through the ELC without somebody asking, where's Coco, why are you, where's Coco? Why, why are you by yourself?
Maria Vazquez: And so as you mentioned she is part, she's one aspect of our weapon screening process. Random screenings. Yes. So, have you found any weapons as part of the searches?
Sergeant Brian Howard: We haven't found any weapons during our searches. We do get some indications from Coco and through some of the searches we found items that aren't
Maria Vazquez: That are contraband
Sergeant Brian Howard: That are contraband, but they aren't dangerous. We found a key chain that, that used to be, it was a used shotgun shell, stuff like that. That it, it's harmless and it's just meant to be a decoration, but it still could,
Maria Vazquez: But she alerted to it.
Sergeant Brian Howard: Exactly. Because it still has the explosive, it still has the smokeless powder on it.
Maria Vazquez: Yeah so, I, I do see where having Coco as part of those screenings can make it, you know, a little bit more comforting because just of her, of her nature. Right. She's, she's such, she's such fun to be around. So, can you tell us are there any plans of expanding? 'cause you know, it's just you and Coco for 200, 200 plus schools.
Sergeant Brian Howard: Yes. And it, it is, it's a lot of schools for, for one team to get to. So, there are plans to get Coco with friends. You know, we, we say that Coco needs a friend, so there are some plans in the works to, to add an additional canine to, to help Coco, you know, with the load of schools.
Maria Vazquez: Well, we certainly be on the lookout for that. And I also think that our viewers need to know that we have several security measures that are in place and having these preventative measures, right. Where our, our staff and our students know, you know, these are random searches, they can occur at any time. They're, they're unannounced, aren't they?
Sergeant Brian Howard: They are unannounced. The schools know that we're coming on what day we're coming. They don't know what classes we may be going to, or exactly. They'll know exactly what period, but they don't know what classes we're going to and they know what day.
Maria Vazquez: Yeah, so that element of surprise also makes people know, you know, I better not bring any contraband on campus because I, I don't know if and when there will be a, a random search.
Sergeant Brian Howard: Right, right. So it's, it's totally random what schools and, and what days and all of that. So they, they're always on their toes and, and you'll hear them, oh, the dog's here. The dog's here and in the room. It, then, it spreads quickly throughout the school, that Coco is on campus
Maria Vazquez: Absolutely. She is the most famous employee of OCPS.
Sergeant Brian Howard: Yep. And I have many schools that ask, can Coco come here every day? <Laugh>. And so, so that, that's what led up to Coco needs a friend. Because Coco can't get to every
Maria Vazquez: School, right? No, she can't. But we are so happy. She and you are part of our OCPS family. Thank you both for being here and thank you all for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. We will have more of our conversation on our podcast. Just go to wherever you get your podcast and search for Mondays with Maria. Have a great day and I'll see you next week. Alright. You were very good. You just settled down.
Sergeant Brian Howard: When she settles down
Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic. Listen to the Mondays with Maria podcast. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by ADDITION Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at Additionfi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.ocps.net. I'm your announcer. Kaleb Priester, a senior at Jones High School. Thanks for watching and have a great week.