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INTRODUCING OUR NEW K9 MIA!
Since the retirement of our K9 Zoey, we've been working to fill her position, which also meant designating an officer to work with her. As a result, we are happy to announce that Officer Ryan Richins is our new K9 officer, and we'd like to introduce Mia as his new partner! Mia is a single purpose narcotic detection K9, who is trained in the 4 major disciplines of marijuana, heroine, cocaine and methamphetamine detection. She is a 2 year old Labrador Retriever and has been training with our department since July. Mia also has the perfect personality to help educate everyone about the job she does. |
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Officer Richins and K9 Mia competed in the Bluegrass K9 Narcotics Trials today against 29 other police departments from all over the country and the LaGrange Police Department team took 1st Place!!!!
Each dog had 3 minutes to find as many objects containing drugs as they could. There were 20 drug samples hidden in 100 different objects. Each team got 50 points for each hit on an object with marijuana, 100 for objects with narcotics, and they lost 150 points for any false hits. Officer Richins and Mia found 15 of the 20 in just 3 minutes! |
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MEET OUR RETIRED K-9 ZOEY!
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A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9", is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work. Police dogs must remember several hand and verbal commands and how to react to various situations.
Zoey is a Labrador Retriever and was rescued from a shelter in Kentucky. She was chosen because of her natural ability to discern different smells, her willingness to learn and her drive to play. While we see her job as work, she sees it as a game. Wanting to play and be rewarded for a job well done motivates her to learn and "work". Zoey was trained to find different kinds of illegal drugs that are hidden in vehicles, buildings, and different places outside based on how they smell. A LaGrange Police Officer is assigned to Zoey as her handler. Together, she and her handler must be certified and participate in ongoing training to keep their skills sharp. Zoey is a valued member of our department and helps to keep the City of LaGrange safe from drugs. |
