The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife’s law enforcement division has recently added some new officers. Three Labrador retrievers named Gambit, Cosmo, and River have been added to the roster as service dogs. The dogs were paired with their conservation officer handlers at the Highland Canine Training center in Harmony, North Carolina.
Officer Glenn Griffie was paired with K-9 River and they will serve Region 5 in eastern Kentucky. Griffie said there is a reason they went with this specific breed.
“They’re great hunting dogs, they’re great with people, they’re friendly dogs, and they’re approachable. We didn’t want something that makes sportsmen or women feel they couldn’t approach us if they seen myself or my K-9 out. Yellow labs, they’re just bred to be good dogs, good hunting animals and pets, so we got the best of both worlds out of that.”
The K-9s will assist officers with trailing, article location and narcotics detection.
Griffie said they have hit the ground running.
“K-9 River and myself has made a drug case already a few days ago and as well as we’ve had our other teams, they successfully went out and going to hunting areas and trailing hunters into areas to make sure they aren’t doing anything illegal, any illegal activity.”
The dogs were trained at the Highland Canine Training center in Harmony, North Carolina. They also underwent training with their new handlers at that facility.
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