During the week of March 13-18, 2022, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit participated in the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) field trials, hosted by the Santa Rosa County, Florida Sheriff’s Office. These trials include handlers from Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. Handlers must complete this yearly certification in order to qualify to work the streets with their K-9 partner. This certification is a measure of each K-9 team’s ability in narcotics detection and what the organization refers to as PD1, which encompasses criminal apprehension, obedience, criminal search work (articles and suspect location), and agility. During this certification, K-9 teams must obtain a minimum score to pass; competitors are also ranked on how well they complete each task.  

Lowndes County K-9 Unit brought home several awards from this event. In the narcotics division, Lowndes County took top place in departmental teams. Sergeant Davis (K-9 Bella) and Deputy Tucker (K-9 Hyde) took 1st place. Deputy Parker (K-9 Duncan) along with Deputy Suhr (K-9 Ghost) placed 2^nd. Individually narcotics detection Sergeant Davis (K-9 Bella) placed 4^th in the indoor narcotics search 7^thplace overall. Deputy Tucker (K-9 Hyde) placed 1^st in the indoor narcotics search and 4^th place overall.   Deputy Parker (K-9 Duncan) placed 3^rd in the indoor narcotics search, 5^th in the vehicle narcotics search, and 2^nd place overall. Lieutenant Bennett (K-9 Thanos) placed 2^nd in the vehicle narcotics search and 1^st place overall.

In PD1, Deputy Tucker (K-9 Hyde) placed 5^th in criminal search and placed 12^th overall for PD1. Deputy Parker (K-9 Duncan) placed 10th overall in PD1. Lieutenant Bennett (K-9 Thanos) placed 2^nd in obedience, 4^th place in agility, 1^st placed in criminal search, and 2^nd place overall in PD1. Lieutenant Bennett (K-9 Thanos) was awarded the top dual-purpose K-9, which is the total score of combined narcotics detection and PD1.

This measurement of success when compared to other states just shows the citizens of Lowndes County that they have a K-9 Unit they can depend on.