The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office has the
second oldest continuing operating K9 unit in Colorado dating back
to the early 70’s, only preceded by the City of Denver. We presently have five dual-purpose teams which specializes in
both Detection work and Patrol work. Three teams are trained to detect illegal drugs and two teams are trained
to detect explosives. We also have one Bloodhound whose sole purpose is tracking.
Their Patrol related duties include:
- Tracking
- Area/Building Searches
- Obedience verbal and non-verbal commands
- Officer Protection
- High risk/Felony car stops
- Suspect Apprehension
- Public Demonstration
- S.W.A.T. related Apprehensions
All K9 teams work a district within the County of Boulder, but are expected to
respond to any call, which
may require the use of a dog. They are on a paging system and subjected to a call out 24 hours a day for 365
days of the year.
Each K-9 is assigned to an officer and lives with that officer and his/her family. A K-9 and their Deputy typically
work together for 4-6 years, until the K9 retires. After a K9 retires they are given to the Deputy and become a family
pet. Our K-9’s are either purchased by the Sheriff’s Office or donated by citizens. All of our K9’s are equipped with a
ballistic vest to protect them during high-risk deployments. These vests have been donated by the public and cost more
than $700 each.
