DFG News Release

Department of Fish and Game Graduates Additional K-9 Teams in Second Academy

Five K-9 teams will graduate this weekend from the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) K-9 Academy in Willits following completion of training in apprehension, detection and handler protection.

“These K-9 units will be used by DFG’s Law Enforcement Division to assist with a variety of searches, including those for missing persons, firearms and evidence of poaching activity,” said Chief Nancy Foley, DFG Law Enforcement Division. “The dogs will be another tool for game wardens in stopping criminal activities and serving the public, whether facing a poacher hiding evidence or helping speed up the search for Quagga mussels on a boat.”

This is the second K-9 group to graduate the academy. The first teams cover Butte, Glenn, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, Shasta and Tehama counties.

Six other fully-trained K-9 teams currently cover Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tulare and Yolo counties. Each team will have a specific patrol area, but will be available to travel to other areas that need support. DFG plans to train up to 24 police service dogs to be staged around the state within the next seven months.

With DFG’s game warden force stretched thin, the dogs will make patrols much more effective. In addition to standard patrol support, the dogs will be able to assist with searches for missing persons and suspects, and in locating evidence such as spent ammunition and hidden firearms. The new teams also have been trained in apprehending suspects, making them especially useful to wardens in rural patrol areas where backup can be more than an hour away.

All the DFG dogs have been trained in detecting Quagga mussels, which are very small, invasive freshwater mussels that seriously threaten California’s economy and environment. The training in ammunition and associated odor detection provides California with an additional level of homeland security. Other scent training for the protection of wildlife may include bear, deer, fish, elk, abalone and waterfowl depending on the patrol area.

“A dog’s scent ability has been estimated to be up to a million times stronger than a human’s,” said Lt. Lynette Shimek, K-9 handler and program coordinator. “When dealing with something as small as Quagga mussels on a boat or waterfowl hidden in the trunk of a vehicle, a dog will let us know quickly that something is not right.”

Graduation for the second academy teams will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26 at Howard Park, on the Howard Forest California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection station property, located on Highway 101 just south of the town of Willits.

DFG’s K-9 Program will be funded largely through private donations. Donated funds will be received and administered by a not-for-profit organization that works hand-in-hand with DFG and its secret witness reporting program “CalTIP” (Californians Turn in Poachers and Polluters). The organization, CalTIP Inc., is a charitable organization designated under section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Organizations, agencies and individuals can sponsor or donate funds to support a K-9 unit and all donations are tax deductible. For more information, please visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/K9/index.aspx.

Second Academy Graduates

• Handler: Warden Loren Freeman
  K-9: Leo, two-year-old German Shepherd
  Assignment: Lake and Mendocino counties
• Handler: Warden Kyle Kroll
  K-9: Buck, four-year-old German Shepherd
  Assignment: Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties
• Handler: Warden Gene Weckman
  K-9: Nash, 16-month-old Belgian Shepherd
  Assignment: Butte and Glenn counties
• Handler: Warden Brian Gallaher
  K-9: Tres, 14-month-old German Shepherd
  Assignment: Modoc and Lassen counties
• Handler: Warden Brian Boyd
  K-9: Phebe, 16-month-old Malinois
  Assignment: Shasta and Tehama counties

Additional K-9 Teams

• Handler: Lt. Lynette Shimek, Program Coordinator
  K-9: Ellen, five-year-old German Shepherd
  Assignment: Statewide training
• Handler: Warden Robert Pelzman
  K-9: Nigel, 15-month-old Labrador Retriever
  Assignment: Placer County
• Handler: Warden Christy Wurster
  K-9: Wrigley, two-year-old German Shorthair- Labrador-Golden Retriever mix
  Assignment: Amador, Alpine and El Dorado counties
• Handler: Warden Lorraine Doyle
  K-9: Iris, two-year-old Labrador Retriever
  Assignment: Fresno County
• Handler: Warden Lori Oldfather
  K-9: Louie, two-year-old, Labrador Retriever
  Assignment: City of Stockton
• Handler: Warden Roxanne Bowers
  K-9: Cooper, two-year-old Hound mix
  Assignment: Alameda County
• Handler: Warden Laurie Knowles
  K-9: Iggy, five-year-old, Labrador Retriever
  Assignment: Amador County