Law enforcement compete in K9 Certification Trials
By: Jade Cunningham
Updated: March 14, 2013
The competition was fierce at the 2013 Regional Patrol Canine Certification Trials.
21 officers, from Louisiana to East Texas, came to prove their four-legged partner was the best.
While only one winner was named, each officer who participated earned their credential to keep working with their canine in the field.
"They are very obedient," said K9 Manager Bryan Lazaro. "Yes they do bite, but they stop biting when we tell them to, and they bite when we tell them to."
One by one, patrol dogs and their masters were judged.
"There's different phases of testing," said Lazaro. "It's all point-based and you have to get a certain percentage to pass."
And with each event like bite work, box searches, and evidence searches, the pressure was on.
"It's a lot of hard work and if you don't have a passion for it, then you're in the wrong line of work," states Lazaro.
While it's a competition for the officers participating in the event, some of those watching say, for them, it's more personal.
Like for brothers Hunter and Holten Pemberton, who help their dad with his canine.
"We train them to sit, lay down, heal, jump over, go under, and jump through windows," said 11-year-old Holten. "The coolest thing for me, is I get to do bite work. I get to pull up the sleeve and they bite me."
And they say it's fun to see the competitors in action.
"It's kind of a big privilege to watch the dogs because most people don't even get to see them," said 8-year-old Hunter. "They're usually in the cars and saving people."
They just hope people understand why officers do an event like this.
"It's a very important job to be a police officer to keep the town safe," Holten said.
Which is what Lazaro wants the community to know as well.
"They should feel like police dogs are valuable assets to their community and they should feel a little bit safer," he said. "Everybody [here] has one thing in common, and that's to keep the public safe."
For the first time, the Texarkana, Texas Police hosted the competition.
They have two K9 units, while the Texarkana, Arkansas Police Department has one.
The winner of the event will be announced at a later time.
21 officers, from Louisiana to East Texas, came to prove their four-legged partner was the best.
While only one winner was named, each officer who participated earned their credential to keep working with their canine in the field.
"They are very obedient," said K9 Manager Bryan Lazaro. "Yes they do bite, but they stop biting when we tell them to, and they bite when we tell them to."
One by one, patrol dogs and their masters were judged.
"There's different phases of testing," said Lazaro. "It's all point-based and you have to get a certain percentage to pass."
And with each event like bite work, box searches, and evidence searches, the pressure was on.
"It's a lot of hard work and if you don't have a passion for it, then you're in the wrong line of work," states Lazaro.
While it's a competition for the officers participating in the event, some of those watching say, for them, it's more personal.
Like for brothers Hunter and Holten Pemberton, who help their dad with his canine.
"We train them to sit, lay down, heal, jump over, go under, and jump through windows," said 11-year-old Holten. "The coolest thing for me, is I get to do bite work. I get to pull up the sleeve and they bite me."
And they say it's fun to see the competitors in action.
"It's kind of a big privilege to watch the dogs because most people don't even get to see them," said 8-year-old Hunter. "They're usually in the cars and saving people."
They just hope people understand why officers do an event like this.
"It's a very important job to be a police officer to keep the town safe," Holten said.
Which is what Lazaro wants the community to know as well.
"They should feel like police dogs are valuable assets to their community and they should feel a little bit safer," he said. "Everybody [here] has one thing in common, and that's to keep the public safe."
For the first time, the Texarkana, Texas Police hosted the competition.
They have two K9 units, while the Texarkana, Arkansas Police Department has one.
The winner of the event will be announced at a later time.
