Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Patrol Operations Bureau
-K-9 Unit

Graduates:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office K9 "Reggie" - Corporal Mike Kilian
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office K9 "Barli" - Detective Mark Douglas

What:
Two Pinellas County Sheriff's Office K-9 teams graduated from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Detector K9 School.

When:
The training was held from Monday, March 7 to Friday, April 28th, 2016.

Where:
The training was held at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit Complex.

Why/How:
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office announces the graduation of K9 "Reggie" and Corporal Mike Kilian and K9 "Barli" and Detective Mark Douglas, from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Detector K9 School on April 28, 2016.

During the eight-week course, the dogs are imprinted on their odors of detection through a series of fun retrieve and simple location exercises then advance to more practical exercises to include checking vehicles, rooms, outdoor areas, public places and boats. The course also teaches handlers the proper handling techniques, drug or explosive material recognition and animal behavior theory. Most importantly, the handlers work closely with their K9s to learn how to interpret their dog's behaviors when locating the trained odors.

"Reggie" and Corporal Kilian trained in explosive detection. "Reggie" was taught to locate 14 separate explosive compounds. "Barli" and Detective Douglas trained in drug detection and received certification in Narcotics Detection from the United States Police Canine Association.