K9 deputies and canines earn national certification

Rutherford County Sheriff’s K9s and their patrol deputy handlers earned national certification from the United States Police Canine Association.

The four-month patrol K9 handlers’ course was hosted by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s K9 Unit.

K9 Deputy Christian Salter and K9 Timo, Deputy Brandon Baines and K9 Odin, Deputy David Vega and K9 Jack and Deputy Sydney Segroves and K9 Ryker earned the national certification.

Salter and Timo earned the Top Dog Award in the course, said Sheriff’s K9 Unit Sgt. David Ashburn.

Their training consisted of obedience, article searches, patrol response, building searches and tracking.

Timo, Odin, Jack and Ryker join K9 Deputy Aaron Price and K9 Hector as dual purpose patrol and narcotics canines. K9 Deputy Richard Tidwell and bloodhound, Fred, work as a search and rescue team.

Ashburn and K9 Pablo, a certified dual purpose patrol and narcotics canine assigned to the SWAT Team, are trained in explosives. A Special Forces Unit from Fort Campbell donated Pablo.

Pablo has two combat tours to Syria and is especially trained to work with a unit in close quarters combat, Ashburn said.

The K9s noses are 100 time stronger than humans. Their sight and hearing exceeds more than humans.

“The dogs we have selected have the drive to work and play,” Ashburn said. “They have the ‘never give up attitude.’ The dogs are trained to believe that nothing in this work is more powerful than them and they can beat everything they encounter.”

K9 patrol duties include responding to a crime in progress, apprehending suspects, tracking suspects at large and locating subjects hiding in buildings or structures. The detection of illegal narcotics and explosives will provide a useful tool to other law enforcement officers and agencies.

“In situations where officers may face dangerous suspects or confrontations, police canines can often be a less lethal alternative to firearms or other forms of physical force,” Ashburn said. “While dog bites can be painful, they are typically not life-threatening. The canine’s presence alone can serve as a deterrent and stop suspects from resisting.”

The USPCA is the nation’s largest, continuously operating organization that promotes quality-trained and certified canine teams.

Pictured: New nationally certified K9 deputies and their canines are from left, K9 Deputy Christian Salter and Timo, K9 Deputy Brandon Bains and Odin, K9 Sgt. David Ashburn and Pablo, K9 Deputy Sydney Segroves and Ryker and K9 Deputy David Vega and Jack.