Awards Given to Our Dogs and Their Handlers
K9 Odin and handler Deputy Pigsley showcasing a number of awards they received, including
2022 Case of the Year Award
2nd Place Patrol Dog (two times)
3rd Place Patrol Dog
Master Tracker Award
K9 Vader and his developing handler won local
2020 County Fair Awards
K9 Sonny and handler Deputy De Bruin won
2018 2nd Overall Narcotic Award at USPCA
K9 Vader's 2018 Hero of The Year Award with Deputy handler Kyle
First ever K9 recipient to receive this award while living (and still working). Prior K9 recipients had only been honoured with this award after their passing.
K9 Vader was also
a two-time Master Tracker Award winner
&
a three-time Patrol Case of the Year Award winner.
K9 Sonny and handler Deputy De Bruin won
2017 3rd Place Team for USPCA Narcotic Trials
Colorado Police K9 Talu and Officer handler Cheryl received
2016 Hardest Hitting Police K9 Award
and
2016 Agility Award
K9 Sonny and Officer Justin DeBruin won
2016 Case of The First Quarter Award
K9 Vader and Deputy Kyle Quist won
2014 Case of the Year Award
and
2014 Master Tracker Award
K9 Talu and Officer Cheryl Yaws won
2013 Narcotics Case of the Year Award
Former premier Gordon Campbell of British Columbia (left) giving K9 Jorja and her handler, Kim Moore, the
Premiers' Award of Excellence
in 2008/09 for their scent detection work in provincial programs
The first award they received was for Patrol Case of the Year. All members of the organization can submit a case they believed to be one of their best for the year between certification periods. The cases are read to all members of the organization and all details such as names, departments, areas, etc. are anonymous. The members of the organization vote for the case they believe to be the best one submitted for the year. Deputy Quist and K9 Vader won the award for an incident that occurred in Audubon County. The K9 team was called to assist multiple agencies with a domestic situation involving a firearm. The suspect fled on foot. K9 Vader tracked the suspect across a field and located him in some tall grass. The K9 apprehended the subject by biting him. The subject was given medical attention and arrested on multiple charges.
The second award they received was a Master Tracker award. The certification judges pick two K9 teams to compete that they believed ran the best tracks in their certification. Quist and K9 Vader were one of the teams selected to compete. The judges then lay similar tracks for the two competing teams. The tracks are lengthy, roughly a mile or longer. The judges attempt different techniques to make the K9 team lose the track. They also judge how well the K9 stayed on track and how the K9 worked different surface conditions and terrain. Deputy Quist and K9 Vader ran their track successfully to earn the award.
After winning the Master Tracker award this year, Deputy Quist, over the years with K9 Kane (retired) and now K9 Vader has won a first place or case of the year award in every category of the HAPDA organization (patrol case of the year, narcotics case of the year, tough dog, patrol dog, & detector dog).
