K-9s Compete in Annual Re-Certification Challenge

Tino and Sergeant have had each other’s backs for the two years they’ve been friends and partners at crime scenes. Richard Palmer, Jackson County Sergeant of Canine, says, "When we train these dogs, to begin with, we train them by hiding an odor of narcotics or the odor that they’re trained to detect with their toy, and their toy is actually the reward for finding the odor, so they’re not actually looking for narcotics, or bombs, they’re looking for their toy."

Tino and Sergeant help keep drugs off the streets and put the money used for these crimes back into the community they protect and serve. Palmer also says, "He helped me with a $14,000 seizure, he helped me with a seizure of marijuana, he helped me with a seizure of 2 kilos of cocaine, a seizure of a half million dollars roughly, and a seizure of a million dollars that happened last year."

Each year, these furry friends with badges band together for recertification to make sure they’ve still got what it takes, and a little friendly competition never hurts. Mike Ezell, Jackson County Sheriff, says, "It’s a competition among all these guys out here, it’s good competition and if you just look at them, they’re just having a great time with it getting to show off their dogs."

Some dogs are trained in narcotics and some are trained in apprehension. In Tino’s case, he does both. Palmer also says, “As well as article searches for lost or missing property, or property that’s been disposed during a crime.”

When Tino’s not hard at work, he’s just another member of the family. Palmer says, "Tino’s just an average dog. We play ball, we play fetch, he plays with my children, he’s a good dog."

While these dogs are serious about their jobs, they hardly even know they’re working. Palmer closes, "It’s all a game. They work for food, they work for love, and they work for their toy primarily."

The award for Top Patrol Team went to Jackson County’s Tim Prochilo and Aragon. They also won Top Patrol Dog and the Bubba Howell Award for Best Overall Obedience and Apprehension. Each year, the trials are held in different places around the state. This year, they were held on Pascagoula’s Singing River Island.