K-9

K-9 Unit

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit is comprised of a nine Sheriff K-9 teams. The K-9 Unit provides an atmosphere of service and safety in the community due to the canine's specialized training and capabilities. Uses of canine teams serve the purpose of crime prevention, crime suppression, criminal investigation, and officer/citizen protection. The dogs are utilized in the patrol and jail divisions.

The dogs are trained with the ability to manage crowds, detect drugs and narcotics in investigations, locate and apprehend violent criminal suspects, and tracking.

Due to their extraordinary sense of smell, our canines can search extremely large areas in a fraction of the time it would take multiple Deputy Sheriff's to complete the search. This makes the job safer for Deputies and can save hundreds of man-hours per year, allowing Deputies to be available for more proactive policing and give quicker response times.

Learn more about each of the K-9's through their bios.

Our K9 unit is 100 percent supported by donations only, if you would like to donate please contact Captain J. Duffy at 775-586-7251 or mail check to Douglas County Sheriff's Office P.O. Box 218 Minden, NV 89423. Please make check out to: DCSO K9 Unit

Community Involvement

The K-9 Unit participates in hundreds of hours of community involvement per year in Douglas County. We provide education to elementary schools, local businesses and participate in numerous community events. Our Canine Teams perform demonstrations and events and venues throughout the community.

For more information or to schedule a performance demonstration please contact Captain J. Duffy at 775-586-7251

The K-9 Unit is supported solely through public and private donations. Without community support, we would not have a K-9 Unit because the unit does not have a budget supporting it.

Typical Assignments

Our canine teams add another level of expertise and capability available to the Sheriff's Office in specialized areas, such as, but not limited to:

  • Conducting building searches for offenders in hiding
  • Assist in the arrest of prevent the escape of serious or violent offenders
  • Protect officers or others from serious injury or death
  • Track or locate suspects
  • Locate lost or missing persons
  • Locate evidence of a crime
  • Detect narcotics
  • Selective enforcement and crime prevention
  • Public education