ASHLAND — Plymouth police Sgt. Derek Newcomb is walking to a car with Bruder, his police dog in training, at his side when Bruder stops and sits by the back seat door, a signal that there are drugs in the car.

It's not the real thing. It's a demonstration of police and military dogs and their masters, part of the fourth annual Military K-9 Team Benefit, which has raised $3,000 to $5,000 a year to support area police department K-9 teams and military K-9 units in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“These guys go out with their four-legged soldiers and protect us every day,” said Laurie Coffin, the event's organizer.

This year's benefit will finance a $200 cooling vest for Bruder, and one of the participants at the benefit also pledged $740 to pay for a bulletproof vest for the dog, who has been training with Newcomb for the past year to become Plymouth's first police dog.

It costs $10,000 to properly outfit a police dog, but the dogs are worth the money, as they sniff drugs and bombs, and can stop a fleeing criminal in seconds.

“With budgets being cut, the budget for the dog comes from donations, so events like these are very much needed,” said Newcomb.

The benefit also supports military dogs, which play a bigger role in fighting wars overseas than most people realize, said Tech Sgt. Matthew Plunkett, the kennel keeper at Hanscom Air Force Base in Lincoln, Mass.

Military dogs are used widely on the battlefield to sniff out bombs, and have the saved lives of hundreds of American soldiers in Afghanistan, Plunkett said. Dogs go ahead of troops and often find roadside improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, before they go off.

“The dogs in Afghanistan have a high price on their heads, higher than any soldier, because they've been able to stop the IEDs,” Plunkett said. “The enemy has begun to change tactics because our dogs are so good.”

This year's event was dedicated in part to helping Sgt. Brian Williams, a 25-year-old New Jersey native who lost part of his leg in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2010, and whose dog, Carly, stayed at his side until he was found by U.S. soldiers.

“I can't tell you how important it is to have dogs out there with their masters, clearing the roadways and buildings,” Plunkett said.

Coffin said donations from the past two years' benefits led to 1,800 pounds in care packages sent overseas to U.S. troops.

- - - - - - - -

Dan Seufert may be reached at dseufert@newstote.com.