Robert A Miller Jr

Robert A Miller Jr

Park Police 1959

Courtesy Robert Miller

Courtesy Robert Miller

Police Officer Robert Aaron Miller, known as "RAM" Robert Aaron Miller or the "The Dog Man"  began his career with the Baltimore City Park Police where he would work Motors among other duties before the Park Police would Merger with the City Police. As a member of the City Police he took part in helping to build the K9 unit. Under Police Commissioner James M. Hepbron, Officer Miller would volunteer for and be found qualified to work as part of Baltimore's experimental K9 unit.

THE METHOD OF SELECTING OFFICERS:

It must be kept in mind that an officer to work with a dog must want to do so-he cannot be forced into the job as his reactions to his work reflects in the animal. All officers, therefore, must volunteer. From this list they are carefully screened and selected. First, they must meet certain requirements:

(a) They must live in their own home. This home must have adequate ground or a yard to house and care for a dog.

(b) The officer's wife and family must be investigated from the stand point of willingness and approval.

(c) They must have available an automobile to use at all times.

(d) Their personnel record with the department must be good.

(e) Sufficient practical police experience or knowledge before being assigned to unit.

 

The cost of the K-9 Corps consists of the salary of the personnel assigned to the unit plus an estimated" figure of $200 per year per dog. (This latter figure is based on the cost of food, equipment and veterinary charges.) All dogs have been donated outright to the department for use in police work. They must be German Shepherd dogs (male) sound of body, physically fit and of good even temperament-neither vicious nor shy, and preferably under 3 years of age. No kennel facilities are provided. Each dog is assigned to an officer and from that point on lives with him at his home. The fact that the dog is with the officer constantly not only provides a closer bond of relationship between man and dog, but it also eliminates the necessity of the erection of expensive kennels and the personnel to staff same. Food is purchased by the department and distributed to the individual officer as required. This food consists of a kennel biscuit and canned horse meat or beef. Each officer is taught to train his own dog. The dog is first trained, in basic obedience, and tested for gun shyness. Next, attack work and then trailing (location of lost persons or criminals). Finally, the dog is trained to locate articles or materials that could be used as evidence. (It is extremely important in the attack training that the dog attacks only on command of his handler and releases immediately when told.) Officer Miller met or exceeded every requirement becoming one of Baltimore's first K-9 officer/handlers. Officer Miller was the handler to a dog named Tuefel #46 of Baltimore first 62 dogs. Often the way it was done, would be to obtain as many dogs as they could, all dogs were donated to the Department and were usually between 9 months and 1 1/2 years old when accepted. The training director then was, Sergeant Thomas A. Knott, he would inspect all dogs offered to insure that they are in sound physical condition and of good disposition. Once found qualified the dog is turned over to a veterinarian for an extensive check-up to discover any possible physical or medical defects. The dogs and handlers are then paired and begin schooling. The team of instructors was comprised of two experienced trainers Officers William A. Lejewski and John F. Barnard. This Education and Training Unit is supervised by Sergeant Knott a twenty-three year veteran of the Department. Sergeant Knott has been training dogs for more than forty years.

The teams become well versed in building and field searches for both subjects and objects. This training also includes the recovery of weapons. Among the thirty-nine dogs and handlers deployed by the Department many were also proficient in specialized areas. Five were effective in bomb detection and over one half of the dogs have proved to be reliable in drug detection. Officer Miller took part in a new training program was introduced to enable K-9 teams to detect the presence of deceased persons. The Officers, in their continuing effort to improve and refine the skills of their dogs, also spend many off-duty hours in training. Numerous teams hold American Kennel Club Degrees. The Companion Dog Degree can be obtained only after a dog receives a minimum score of 170 out of a possible 200 points by three different AKC judges in obedience. The Tracking Degree is awarded to a dog who follows a 500 yard track left by a stranger within 40 feet, under the watchful eyes of two AKC judges. The track must be from fifteen minutes to two hours old. This must be accomplished while on his handler's lead and at the end, locate an object left by the stranger. The special skills developed by the teams are applied almost daily. A systematic search of a large building for a suspect by a group of eight to ten officers would take three to four hours. The same search by a Canine team requires only one-fifth the time.

German Shepherds could be handled, trained to see which were trainable and which were not, pretty fast. Baltimore required a different kind of dog, so while nearly all dogs can be trained to be a good guard/security dog, only a few could be Baltimore dogs. Our dogs had to be ale to be around kids, and adults, even disobedient criminals without biting, or attacking unless given a command. It took a special kind of person to be a handler, further it took a special family, because the handlers of the Baltimore K9 took their work home with them, Officer Miller and his family helped form what has become one of America's best K9 units, they helped set up a program where when dogs didn't make the cut here, they sent on to the military where some went on to be quite heroic. As one of the first members of what became one the finest K9 units in the country, Officer Miller and his family along with only a select few other officers with their families in the unit developed a training method that would go on to be copied by nearly every K9 unit in the country. Our hats off to Officer Miller and the other members of his unit. See our K9 page HERE

P/O Robert A Millers Jr's 1960 - Baltimore Police Winter Coat
with Emergency Services Arm Band

Shoulder Patch

P/O Robert A Miller Jr's 1960 - Rocker Shoulder, and K9 patch

P/O Robert A Miller Jr's Leather K9 Handlers Jacket

Officer William Miller 

 Off Miller with Tuefel

Baltimore Bomb Squad R Miller in State Police Vehicle

RAM's Bomb Tech ID Card

RAM w/ Tuefel

R Miller's FOP Membership Card signed by D Woods 1972

Robert Miller Served a term as 1st Vice President of FOP Lodge #3

Courtesy Robert Miller

Courtesy Robert Milller

RAM's family showing how their K9 became part of the family

Wallet Photo

A Family Dog

Robert A Miller's Retirement

Current Pics of the RAM 2014