K-9 Graduation
By: Marchelle McConnell
Updated: June 18, 2009
Wednesday, two Indiana officers join the K-9 unit. Bullet and Caro are the Indiana’s newest K-9 officers. Bullet didn’t waste any time getting to work. One day before his graduation, he stopped his first suspect. The man stole an item from Wal-Mart, and Bullet found him hiding in the bushes.
Joel Thomas, one of the graduates from the Marion Police department says he is very proud of his dog. Sgt. Bob Theurer, the K-9 Supervisor in Fort Wayne, says “Being a police K-9 handler for any police department as far as I’m concerned is the best job in the police department.”
The graduates are celebrating 13 weeks of Police K-9 training. They learned everything from obedience to how to sniff out drugs. The officers and dogs are now nationally recognized by every court in the country.
But it was not easy to get to this point. Gary Griffith, one of today’s K-9 handler graduates says training “was some of the most stressful yet rewarding I have ever been through.” Sgt. Theurer says having dogs in the police force keep the community safe. “As far as man power is concerned, having a dog available can do a lot of jobs it would take a regular officer a longer time to accomplish.” Not only can they track down drugs and jump over fences, these dogs are also trained to take action if things get violent.
The dog and handler spend a lot of time together, from home, to work, to play. So it’s no surprise that the two are very close. Sgt. Theurer says “Most of these guys spend more time with their dogs that they do with their family. They are with them 8 hours a day at work, and all the time at home.” And the handlers who graduated today say dogs really are man's best friend.
Sgt. Thurer says it takes a year before the duo gets totally comfortable with each other. The 2 officers and dogs will hit the streets for the first time this Sunday. Bullet joins nine other K-9 teams on the Fort Wayne Unit.
Joel Thomas, one of the graduates from the Marion Police department says he is very proud of his dog. Sgt. Bob Theurer, the K-9 Supervisor in Fort Wayne, says “Being a police K-9 handler for any police department as far as I’m concerned is the best job in the police department.”
The graduates are celebrating 13 weeks of Police K-9 training. They learned everything from obedience to how to sniff out drugs. The officers and dogs are now nationally recognized by every court in the country.
But it was not easy to get to this point. Gary Griffith, one of today’s K-9 handler graduates says training “was some of the most stressful yet rewarding I have ever been through.” Sgt. Theurer says having dogs in the police force keep the community safe. “As far as man power is concerned, having a dog available can do a lot of jobs it would take a regular officer a longer time to accomplish.” Not only can they track down drugs and jump over fences, these dogs are also trained to take action if things get violent.
The dog and handler spend a lot of time together, from home, to work, to play. So it’s no surprise that the two are very close. Sgt. Theurer says “Most of these guys spend more time with their dogs that they do with their family. They are with them 8 hours a day at work, and all the time at home.” And the handlers who graduated today say dogs really are man's best friend.
Sgt. Thurer says it takes a year before the duo gets totally comfortable with each other. The 2 officers and dogs will hit the streets for the first time this Sunday. Bullet joins nine other K-9 teams on the Fort Wayne Unit.
