Page 27 - TPA Journal January - February 2019

outside association. Sector K9 does not provide Several K9 teams that have graduated this
a vender certification to the team; the outside program are reporting different types of
association certifies the team for each discipline. community involvement. Some examples
This allows for a more concrete foundation for include student involvement in schools at an all-
the team in court. However, the handler will time high, medical care and vaccinations
receive a certificate of completion through our donated from local veterinarians, food and
program. kennels donations, requests for demonstrations
of the K9, and an overall support for the police
The handler course includes classroom departments.
instruction, case law, and community
involvement techniques. Sector K9 and Animal Everyone knows that police dogs keep criminals
Farm Foundation share the understanding that the off of the streets, but this innovative program for
training of the handler is equally important as the training former shelter dogs is about bringing
training of the dog. During the course, handlers communities together as much as it’s about
will be exposed to many different scenario-based keeping them safe.
trainings, including traffic stops, search warrants,
demonstrations, and the ability to articulate their Please visit www.animalfarmfoundation.org to
dog’s behavior changes. learn more about Animal Farm Foundation. For
There is also a criminal interdiction course more information on Sector K9, go to:
specifically created for the K9 officers. The course www.sectork9.com.
is also sponsored by Animal Farm Foundation.
This course is an in-depth, hands-on program
which allows officers to learn new search
techniques, how to legally deploy their K9, case
law, and practical application of searching and
deploying their dogs.

We select the K9 handlers based on many K9 Riggs and Officer K9 Pepper and Officer Collins
factors. We base it on the needs, wants, and Donoso - Hico, TX Police - Johnson County Constable
Department Office Precinct 4
expectations of a K9 unit. We believe the dog
should not only be part of the law enforcement
agency, but be a part of the community as well.
Police K9s also provide a natural public relations
tool, allowing law enforcement to connect and
develop trust within their community. However,
this program takes the public relations benefit to
an even higher level, since these dogs are from
K9 Heat and Officer Julin -
shelters and some are saved from euthanasia.
Ferris ISD K9 Rugby and Officer
More importantly, these are usually dogs labeled Shannon Solis - New York
Department of Corrections
“pit bull.” These are not the traditional purpose-
bred dogs people think of when they think of a
police dog. These dogs show that dogs of a varied
of backgrounds, even shelter dogs, have the K9 Kiah and Officer Bruzgull -
Poughkeepsie Police Department
potential to do great things.

Jan./Feb. 2019 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • 866-997-8282 23