By MIKE FERGUSON

Baker City Herald

Baker County’s law-abiding residents understand what Turbo, Baker City Police Department’s drug-detecting canine, can do for his community.

Since he earned his badge Oct. 1, Turbo has used his trained sniffer to put away more than a handful of people in possession of illegal drugs, said Sgt. Kirk McCormick of the Baker City Police Department.

This weekend we’ll learn what Turbo’s community can do for him.

Saturday marks the second edition of the annual Baker City K9 Classic Golf Tournament, to be held beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Quail Ridge Golf Course. The four-man scramble event raises money for Turbo’s care and feeding and for additional training for Turbo’s handler, Officer Wayne Chastain.

(Full disclosure: The Baker City Herald’s newsroom is fielding a team Saturday, and it’s being supplemented by a varsity golfer from Baker High School. Fair warning to the tournament’s other hopefuls.)

There’s still room for more teams to enter. Sign-ups are available at the golf tournament Web site, www.bakercityk9classic.com.

The drug-detecting dog has saved officers time and effort and has beefed up their capability for reducing the impact of such drugs as marijuana and methamphetamine, McCormick said.

The dog is in frequent demand: although he and Chastain work the same patrol shifts, Turbo also answers the calls of other police agencies, including the Oregon State Police and Baker County Sheriff’s Department.

andquot;Turbo is a good dog and he’s doing well,andquot; McCormick said, andquot;but we want to raise money in case something catastrophic happens.andquot;

Believe it or not, Turbo in the course of his everyday work is also subject to the scourge of drugs.

andquot;He could get into a batch of drugs and die of an overdose,andquot; McCormick said. Replacing Turbo in that unfortunate circumstance would cost $6,000.

His handler’s a pretty valuable commodity, too. Through his training, Chastain has earned the title of Certified Drug Recognition Expert Instructor.

andquot;I can look at Turbo’s behavior and say, ‘That is an alert,’ andquot; McCormick said. andquot;But I don’t have the credibility to say in court, ‘That was an alert.’ Chastain does, and he’s doing a good job keeping up with his training.

andquot;Turbo will find the drugs, but you have to be trained to know (the difference between) when he’s found drugs and when he is sniffing because another dog has been in the area.andquot;

For McCormick, a vivid example of Turbo’s acute detection ability came about during a stop along Interstate 84. A man gave a state trooper permission to search his vehicle, but thought better of his decision when he saw Turbo arrive on the scene.

andquot; ‘I didn’t know you would use a dog,’ andquot; McCormick said, recounting the man’s crestfallen reaction. andquot;I know,andquot; McCormick added, andquot;that Turbo will have a deterrent effect.andquot;

Area businesses are sponsoring the golf tournament, and Old West Federal Credit Union is doing its part in two ways: it’s agreed to match individual donations up to $500, and it hopes to produce a video of Turbo in action to show, at its Baker City branch, to children interested in how the drug dog does his work.

andquot;It’s going to be a lot of fun Saturday,andquot; said the credit union’s Karen Yeakley. andquot;Even those of us who don’t golf will be out helping.andquot;

Everyone, that is, except the star of the show. Turbo has drawn patrol duty Saturday, McCormick said.

But it’s possible the black Labrador retriever andquot;could make an appearanceandquot; at his own golf tournament, the sergeant suggested.