Policeman Takes Business to the Dogs

Owner: Robert Sanchez

Address: 1786 Amy Circle, Springdale 72762

Phone/fax: (479) 751-1878/same

Hours: by appointment only

Start-up date: April

E-mail address: [email protected]r

Sgt. Robert Sanchez of the Springdale Police Department put to use his nine years as a police-dog handler when he opened the Alpha School of K-9 Obedience.

The Alpha School classes meet once a week for eight weeks in the school yard of Smith Elementary in Springdale. Sanchez said 6-15 dogs and their owners attend the basic or advanced courses.

Basic instruction costs $80 per dog, and owners train their leashed canines to heel, sit and stand. Advanced courses, which are $100 per dog, focus on commanding without a leash.

Any breed of dog can attend the classes, and Sanchez said he has recently worked with rottweilers, Jack Russell terriers, retrievers and even dachshunds.

But Péle, an 11-year old German shepherd and Sanchez’ former police department partner, steals the show. As a decorated police dog, Péle won awards for his training, and Sanchez occasionally brings his son Alex Sanchez and Péle to the class as an example.