The K9 Unit is an integral part of the Sheriff's Office. The K9 Unit normally consists of 4 members of the department, each of which is assigned to a platoon in the Patrol Division. This ensures that a K9 Unit is working the streets of Nash County 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All of the Sheriff's Office K9's are dual purpose K9's, in that they are trained in Narcotics and in Patrol. Most people associate Police K9's with sniffing out illegal drugs. Our K9's are trained to do that, but that is only a small portion of what they are capable of doing. The K9's are trained to track and apprehend suspects, search buildings and wooded areas for suspects, search for evidence, protect the handler, and even track and locate lost children and missing elderly people. Although the K9 Units are primarily assigned to the Patrol Division, they work very closely with the Narcotics Division as well. K9 Units are utilized for searching vehicles, buildings, and residences for narcotics during search warrants by the Narcotics Division.
It takes a special dog to become a Police K9. Most Police K9's are either German Shepards or Belgian Malinois breeds. All of our K9's are born and raised overseas in Europe and then imported to the United States to be trained. The K9's are actually trained right here in Nash County. Once a K9 is trained and put into service, the Sheriff's Office is usually able to get an average of 6-8 years of service from that K9 depending on how healthy he/she stays.
Our K9 Units are quite often requested to do presentations and demonstrations at local civic, church, school, and kids events. This gives the citizens a first hand look at the K9's and also a chance to ask questions of the Handlers and get a better understanding of how the K9's are used and what they can do. If you or your group are interested in having one of our K9 Teams to conduct a demonstration, please contact Cpl. Greg Adams at 252-885-0309 or email at greg.adams@nashcountync.gov.