From The Dog Lady’s mailbag: The American Kennel Club (AKC®), the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for all dogs, is excited to announce the winners of the first-ever AKC/USPCA K9 Detection Dog Challenge. The event, hosted by the AKC and the United States Police Canine Association, brought out the best of the nation’s narcotics and explosives detection dogs to demonstrate the important role dogs play in law enforcement and keeping our country safe. ESPN2 aired the event on November 28th.
“The AKC is proud to profile the great service that our K9 officers provide to our nation to help keep us safe,” said Chris Sweetwood, AKC Board Director. “As the Event Chairman for the Challenge, this was a labor of love for our four-footed first responders and their human partners. We are proud to recognize their professionalism. “
The event was held on November 15th at the PNC Arena, where ten narcotics dog teams and ten explosives detection dog teams competed against each other to see which could find their respective substance – illegal narcotics and explosive substances – the quickest. The teams navigated obstacles and sorted through distractions to find the hidden items. They were scored on the accuracy of their search, perfection of their alert (telling the handler where the hide is), and the find itself (a combination of the ability of the dog and the handler to accurately tell judges where the hide is located).
“This event brought out the best of the best from around the country, and it was extremely impressive to watch these dogs in action,” said Gina DiNardo, AKC Executive Secretary. “We are happy to congratulate the winners and all of the participants and thank them for their diligent work in keeping our nation safe.”
Winners
Explosives Teams:
1st – Michelle Lyman and K9 Peppers, Raleigh Police Department
2nd- Tracy Stuart and K9 Freya, Stockton University Police in New Jersey
3rd- Kaitlyn Schamberger and K9 Zada, NYPD Transit
4th – Alison Gentile and K9 Mac, MTA PD NY
5th – Rich Rodden & K9 Kasey, GMC Security Global Police
Narcotics Teams:
1st – Dao Meunseveng & K9 Bero, Des Moines Iowa Police
2nd- Joe Angarone & K9 Bela, Mercer County, NJ Prosecutors Office
3rd- Larry McArdle & K9 Zoey, New York Department of Corrections
4th- Kolby Kraft & K9 Kye, Charleston, IL Police Department
5th- Jared Davis & K9 Bella, Lowndes County, GA Sheriffs Department
Congrats to all who participated.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!