K-9 Unit

The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety purchased their first K-9 in 2003. It was a six-month-old female Belgium Malinois, named Kayla. After six months of training, she went into service as an all-purpose utility dog. The following year, the department purchased a male German Shepard, named Rico. Now in 2008, we just have begun working with the department’s first Bloodhound, named Jed. These K-9's are assigned to an officer/handler and live with them in a home environment. Each officer is responsible for the care and maintenance of the K-9. This promotes a close relationship between the K-9 and his/her partner.

Each K-9 undergoes a minimum of six months of training and then the K-9 and their assigned officer/handler attend an additional twelve weeks of initial training. After that, the K-9 and their officer/handlers will train two times per week, in addition to once a month with other law enforcement agencies to improve their skills. Each officer and K-9 is trained as “all-purpose” utility teams. These teams are trained in obedience, tracking, article search, area search, building search, and narcotics detection.

All K-9 teams are assigned to the Patrol Division and also works closely with the Narcotics Unit and the Special Response Team. The K-9 teams also give demonstrations for many different groups and organizations throughout the year. If your organization would like to request a demonstration by one of our K-9 teams, please feel free to contact Captain Alfred Alexander.