By Monty Siekerman
K9 Riley greets children at Ada War Memorial Park on Thursday during a week-long series of sessions about the duties and equipment of emergency responders.
Riley's handler for the past four years has been Sheriff Deputy Joe Carl. Youngsters meeting Riley are Gabyrel and Dylan Ford, Kiera Cash, and Jasmine and Gage Gibson.
Carl said Riley is very friendly. But the 8-year-canine wears different collars for what is expected of him. There is a collar that, when worn, tells the dog to track the scent of a person, another collar indicates that the dog should be aggressive, another tells him to search for drugs, etc.
Ada PD Detective Rob Shelton organized the programs all week prior to the free meal provided by ReStore at a shelter at the park. The mounted posse from the sheriff's department is expected at the park from 10 a.m. until noon on Friday.
