K9 Bond wins at Abilene training show

Olney K9 Bond and his handler, Olney Police Cpl. Miranda Wright took home two third-place trophies from U.S. Police Canine Association Region 25 Certification Trials in Abilene last month. The weeklong competition-certification trials were Bond’s second crack at besting police dogs from around the region. “The U.S. Police Canine Association is where K9 teams receive their yearly certifications for Patrol, Narcotics, Tracking Evidence and Article Recovery, Bomb Detection and it’s always fun to add some competition,” Cpl. Wright said. “There are different regions set up and we share ours with departments such as Graham PD, Young County Sheriff ’s Office, Wichita County Sheriff ’s Officer and Police Department, Abilene Police Department, Taylor County, and others. All the agencies come together and get their yearly certifications but there is also networking between handles and agencies.”

The certification and competition contests yield first-, second- and thirdplace winners for each category. Top Dog and Rookie Dog awards are earned at the end of the week, she said. This year, approximately 25 teams participated in different categories, she said.