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North Strabane native becomes first female state police K-9 officer

4 min read
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Growing up in North Strabane Township, Christina Marth regularly worked with her father training their Walker coonhounds and other hunting dogs.

She has turned her love of dogs and their training into a career. In March, Marth became the first female trooper assigned to the state police K-9 unit, working with her partner, Brutus, a yellow Labrador retriever. She is currently working for Troop D, which covers Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

“I have always loved dogs,” Marth said. “The first dog in my heart was Annie, a Walker coonhound my dad, Terry, and I trained together. He taught me how to train and work with them.”

Marth enlisted in the U.S. Air Force before she graduated from Canon-McMillan High School in 2000. After four years of active duty, Marth signed up for another two years and became an Air Force K-9 dog handler. Her first dog in the Air Force was Kay, and when he died, she was teamed up with Hhart, who was bred through the Air Force’s puppy program. The dogs were kenneled on base unless she was on assignment.

“I worked with the U.S. Secret Service and went on missions with them,” Marth said. “Then the dog would stay with me 24/7.”

When she left the Air Force and joined the reserves in August 2006, Marth knew she wanted to join the state police and eventually become a K-9 handler.

“I went to the military to get the experience and education I would need to do the job,” she said. “I knew that is what I wanted to do in the state police.”

Even when she was at the state police training academy in 2009, her daily duties included caring for the K-9 corps.

“I expressed an interest while in the academy,” Marth said.

When she graduated from the academy on Aug. 21, 2009, Marth was assigned to Troop H in York. She worked there for three years before returning to Troop B in Washington, eventually getting the chance to apply for a K-9 handler position.

“It is a very, very selective process to be considered as a K-9 handler,” Marth said. “There were 50 candidates. I had to submit a resume, go through physical and written tests and have an oral interview.”

From the initial group, 10 to 15 troopers are selected to be included on a list for when positions open. She found out last June she made the list. Marth was one of three handlers chosen for the open positions in the state police and started 10 weeks of training earlier this year. She knew that she would be the first female trooper to become a K-9 handler.

“Myself and the two other handlers rotated dogs,” Marth said. “There was a German shepherd that I thought I wanted because I had worked with them in the Air Force. But once I worked with Brutus, I fell in love with him. We kind of picked each other.

“It worked out well because I think all three of us got dogs that suited us,” she added. “The one trooper really wanted the German shepherd and ended up with him.”

Brutus was initially being trained as a seeing-eye dog and had been taught the basics. But when he started to show aggression toward other dogs, he was offered to state police by Susquehanna Services. He passed the selection test and met the criteria to become a state police K-9.

State police dogs are not attack dogs but trained to detect either drugs or explosives. There is also one state police K-9 that detects cadavers. Brutus is trained to detect any type of narcotic.

“Every day is different for us,” Marth said. “Sometimes we work with a detail, other times we are called to check out a vehicle that has been stopped. If I have backup, I can pull over vehicles and do a search.”

Marth said every situation is different. If the dog indicates the presence of drugs, another trooper retrieves them. Although they have only been on the job together for about six weeks, she said he already has proven himself. And for a job well done, Brutus gets a treat.She said that Brutus, who turns three in June, could have a career that lasts eight or nine years.

When the two are off the clock, Brutus gets to be just a dog. “You have to let them be a dog,” Marth said. “He is absolutely part of my family. He has such a great demeanor with everyone.

“If they need us, they can call 24/7,” she added. “I enjoy it, I don’t turn down anything. When I put on my uniform, he knows he is going to work.”

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