Nevada City, Calif. May 17, 2019 – Grass Valley Police Department K9 Officer Kano and State Parks K9 Officer Miro earned awards in separate K9 Trials.
K9 Kano and his handler, Officer Butler of Grass Valley Police Department, brought home four awards following the Western States Police Canine Association (WSPCA) Yuba City Police Department K9 Trial. The competition took place May 3rd and 4th, 2019 in Yuba City, California. WSPCA promotes professionalism and safety for all working police K9 teams by sanctioning police K9 competitions that stress the importance of control, as well as safety tactics, while encountering scenarios that mimic encounters on the street.
Kano earned third place in Overall Narcotics Detection and fifth place in both Overall Patrol Protection and Vehicle Narcotics Detection, earning first place in the Novice Division open only to K9 officers on the streets for less than a year. Officer Butler said this was their first time competing against other K9 teams. “We had a lot of fun and look forward to next year.”
D-Tac K9 Owner and K9 Trainer Gregg Tawney says he knew Kano was special from the start. “Kano shows a tremendous amount of drive to do the job and is also very social. He possesses the perfect combination of personality traits that we look for in police dogs.” Grass Valley Police Department contracts with D-Tac K9 to provide bi-weekly Peace Officers Standardized Training (P.O.S.T.) for GVPD K9 Officers Kano and Rüdiger.
Grass Valley Police Chief Alex Gammelgard believes his K9 officers are top notch. “Officer Butler and Kano make a great team. Because of their hard work and training they provide an unparalleled level of service to our community in their efforts to keep us safe.” He also recognizes Officer Cloyd and Rüdiger, who did not take part in this competition. “Our K9 program has earned the respect and support of our community. We’re very proud.”
In a separate competition State Parks K9 Officer Miro and his handler, Officer Gilbertson, took top honors. Miro and Gilbertson were awarded the Top Dog trophy for Best Performing Team among all sixteen California State Park K9 teams at the Annual State Parks Department Qualifications Competition. State Parks K9 teams are scored in a number of categories including both P.O.S.T. and Department of Park and Recreation obedience tests, apprehension, patrol, detection, indoor and outdoor search and tracking exercises.
“This is the 1st time we have won this trophy,” said Officer Gilbertson, who has partnered with Miro since April 2016. Miro and Gilbertson, who live, work and play together, excelled in each category. “When he’s off-duty he’s 100% dog, but when he’s tasked with the job he’s 100% business.” To maintain P.O.S.T. certification Miro and Gilbertson train constantly. Their training takes them all over the state as they train with other State Parks K9 handlers and their dogs.
Miro and Gilbertson relocated to Nevada County in February 2019. State Parks Sierra District Superintendent Matt Green is excited to have Miro and Gilbertson reside in Grass Valley. “We were without K9 resources for a number of years and we’re delighted to now have the top dog in the State Parks K9 Program as our K9 officer.”
Rüdiger Foundation is proud to support these K9 officers.
The community supports Rüdiger Foundation through fundraising events like the upcoming 4th Annual Paw and Order Dinner taking place on Friday, September 13, 2019 at Miner’s Foundry. To sponsor, provide auction items or purchase event tickets contact info@RuFK9.org
Rüdiger Foundation was formed to provide ongoing support to local law enforcement K9 programs. 100% of donations fund local K9 programs. Rüdiger Foundation has no office overhead and no paid staff. To learn more about Rüdiger Foundation please visit Rüdiger Foundation on Facebook or at RuFK9.org