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

Graduates:
Corporal Matthew Aitken & K-9 Taco (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

Deputy Anthony Lorusso & K-9 Logan (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

Officer Nathaniel Hansmann & K-9 Chato (Largo Police Department)

Officer Tommy Nguyen & K-9 Charlie K “CK” (Tarpon Springs Police Department)

Deputy Jacob Baroff & K-9 Smitty (Pasco County Sheriff’s Office)

Instructor: Corporal Matthew Aitken - Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

Assistant Instructor: Deputy Robert Wilkins – Pasco County Sheriff’s Office

What:
Five K-9s and their new partners have completed four months of training and will soon be called for duty.

The K-9 graduation is free to the public and will feature a parade of K-9 cruisers, agility demonstrations, bite demonstrations and a few surprises.

When:
The K-9 graduation will start at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, March  19, 2019.

The training was held from November 12, 2018, to February 28, 2019

Where:
The K-9 graduation will be held at Countryside High School football field located at 3000 State Road 580, Clearwater.

The K-9’s and their partners trained for four months at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Compound located at 3410 118^th Avenue in Pinellas Park, Clearwater Police Department K-9 compound at 2851 N. McMullen Booth Rd.in Clearwater, as well as various businesses that allowed law enforcement to use their facilities during non-business hours.

How/Why:
These K-9’s will soon be hitting the streets on all fours with their partners. The two newest members of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and three of their friends will be ready to take calls and track bad guys.

K-9 teams from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Largo Police Department, Tarpon Springs Police Department and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office will be recognized with certificates of completion of training during a graduation ceremony at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at Countryside High School football field located at 3000 State Road 580, Clearwater. The event is free and the public is welcome to attend. There also will be a K-9 demonstration highlighting their new skills.

Throughout their four months of training the K-9’s learn obedience commands, bite work, search work to include area and building searches, tracking and human odor response.

After being on the road and patrolling the streets with their partners, some K-9’s will be given the opportunity to continue their training in narcotic and explosive detection.

More information on the newest K-9 graduates can be viewed on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/824965437879275/

K-9 Taco and Corporal Aitken

K-9 Logan and Deputy Lorusso