Newly selected canine officer Bartholomew County Sheriff Deputy Dylan Prather was among those traveling to a northern Indiana kennel to find a new sheriff department dog earlier this year in the wake of the tragic death of K9 Diesel.
And while there, he said he knew instantly which dog should become his work partner, as soon as he was handed Szabi’s leash.
"I just said, ‘that’s the dog’ — we just knew right away," Prather said.
It isn’t the first time that Prather, who has assisted the K9 programs of the sheriff’s department and Columbus Police Department since high school and college, has known right away about something.
Back then, he knew that someday, he wanted to be a canine officer.
"It’s always been my dream," Prather said of becoming the department’s newest handler, with the newest K9 Szabi assigned to him.
Being rookies together in this newest assignment is something that suits Prather, who is enjoying getting to know his new role, and continuing training and learning.
"We just want to work at being the best we can be," Prather said as he began his third shift on June 30, working midnights with Szabi. "It’s been two nights so far and we haven’t caught any bad guys or found any drugs — yet."
Connections
Prather, who found an interest in law enforcement while attending Columbus North High School, chose the canine program as his focus for a senior project, a decision that led to massive positive publicity for the program. Prather astounded the community in 2013 and 2014 by raising more than $15,000 to acquire a Shepherd Malinois named Max for the Columbus Police Department.
"The community 100% came forward on that — it was challenging and a lot of work, but it was cool to see all the work I put into it paying off," he said.
Max retired in 2018, and is remembered for finding methamphetamine on his first day of work for the CPD, finding it in a cigarette case in a car.
In a Nov. 6, 2018 arrest, Prather and Max crossed paths when a local man was arrested on multiple charges after being accused of stealing a vehicle in Columbus and forcing his way into a local home. When officers, including Prather, found the suspect hiding in a field and when the suspect would not respond commands to surrender, K9 Max was sent in to locate and detain him, which he did.
After Max was acquired back in 2014, Prather moved on to IUPUC, where he pursued a law enforcement career while working three jobs — as a dispatcher for the E-911 center, for a local funeral home and as an IUPUC security officer. He entered the Indiana University Police Academy in May 2016.
During this busy time, while Prather was still a student at IUPUC, he took on another campaign to raise money for a new canine for the sheriff’s department, leading to a corporate donation of $18,000 from Real World Testing LLC, an automotive testing firm. That dog was named Diesel and went to handler Matt Bush at the sheriff department.
At the time, Prather, who was then 20, said there was no exact timetable to get the dog, "but the quicker we get the dog, the sooner we can prove its worth to the community."
Tragedy intervenes
Prather was hired by the sheriff’s department as a deputy in June 2018, after completing degrees in business administration and criminal justice.
And he was among the hundreds of mourners in 2020 when Diesel was killed Nov. 14, 2020 while chasing a domestic violence suspect into the woods near I-65. The dog followed a suspect eventually out on to the interstate, where he is believed to have been hit by a vehicle. The suspect was later caught in a ravine near the interstate.
"It was difficult — Diesel played an important role for the department and he was a valued member of the team," Prather said.
And Prather decided to immediately apply when community support in memory of Diesel resulted in the department’s ability to obtain another K9 for the department — Szabi.
"He has big shoes to fill," Prather said of Szabi’s arrival.
But he’s not the only one, Prather said.
"When I put in for it, I said I wanted this to be earned, and not given to me," he said. "My mentality is that you work hard and you show your successes through what you do," he said. "I wanted to earn it."
About Szabi
Szabi is also a Malimois, as was Max, and is now 2 years old and in the first law enforcement role of his training.
Originally from Hungary, the dog initially knew the Hungarian language, which was far too complicated for commands so now he responds to commands in Dutch.
Describing Szabi as a "fun, energetic dog," Prather said part of the reason he immediately connected with the dog is the two seem to have some of the same characteristics.
"We both have such laid-back personalities," he said, "when it’s time to work, it’s time to work and when it’s time to sleep, it’s sleep."
They are working third shift now, so sleeping is at different times than many people experience, but that hasn’t seemed to bother Szabi, who doesn’t mind working the night shift.
"He’d work all the time if we let him," Prather said. "When the lights go on, he’s ready to go."
The dog’s name, in Hungarian, doesn’t really have a meaning but Prather has tried to research it and has come up with positive attributes, but nothing definite. A form of the name Szabo in Hungarian refers to a medieval tailor.
The two have completed six weeks of intense training working together on various tasks, and the training continues through a work group going forward.
"We’ve got more work to do, more training," Prather said. "I can call the kennel to get support or ask questions about things."
Completing the circle
Prather, now 25, allows that he is living the dream that he was hoping for in high school, serving as a canine officer, and for now, he’s enjoying the moment.
"I think about all the support I have received, all the people in my life, and I’ve put in a lot of work, a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get here," he said. "But I will never forget where I came from and how fortunate I am to be here and I am very grateful. It’s so humbling to have this opportunity and I am thankful for it.
He credits his time working as a dispatcher with the E-911 center for training him to be assertive when he needs to be and also a calming influence when that is called for as well.
"I learned how to calm people down and used some quick thinking sometimes — I learned how to make decisions quickly," he said.
Prather and Szabi are the newest canine pairing in Bartholomew County, and other canine officers have joshed them a bit as the "rookies."
While some believe anyone can be a police officer, Prather said, but it is the special officers who have a deep passion for the job and feel it is a true calling and work hard for it.
"I just say we want to be the best we can be," he said. "We’re hoping to make a big impact in the community."
