The newest member of the Airport Police Department's (APD) K9 Unit joined the force about 10 days ago and the APD is asking for the MSP Airport community's help in selecting a name.
Several names have been suggested for the male, 9-month-old Yellow Labrador Retriever, including
Click here to make your selection for the winning name. You have until Friday, March 18, to select the winning name, which will be shared on MACpoint and MyMSPconnect.
The MAC currently has nine dogs in its K9 Unit – seven explosive-detection dogs and two narcotics-detection dogs. The new dog is being trained in-house by the APD's certified trainer and his handler.
The initial training process for a narcotics dog typically takes two to three months, on average, before the handler team (dog and handler) gets certified by either the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) or the North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA).
Even after the initial training, ongoing training continues on a weekly and monthly basis to keep the team's skills up.
"Training never really stops," said Lt. Keith Roediger, the division manager for the APD's Criminal Investigations Division that includes narcotics-detection K9 handlers. "Our new dog is pretty cool and he's still a young dog, but we are excited to see him and his handler, Officer Mitch Irvin, work towards becoming a successful K9 team in the near future."
This is the second time the APD has held a naming contest for one of its dogs. Last June, Ozzy was selected as the name for the APD's newest, at the time, narcotics-detection dog.
Vote today to name our newest APD dog.
