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The Chattanooga Police Department has about 500 sworn officers but some lesser-known members of the team are six dogs that make up the K9 unit.

And since March 13 is National K9 Veterans Day, which celebrates military and working dogs, we thought it’d be a perfect time to feature the remarkable animals that help keep our community safe.

Let’s meet them. ⬇️

• Burt | Belgian Malinois | 3 years of service | Narcotics detection, criminal apprehension, evidence search and tracking | Burt has “an extraordinary sense of smell”and a “desire to please.” He helps officers search safely + with increased efficiency and has assisted in numerous arrests. His handler is Lucas Timmons.

• Kilo | German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix | 8 years of service | Narcotic searches + criminal tracking | Kilo enters buildings first to find who is inside + is responsible for many drug seizures. His handler is George Romero.

• Cammie | Labrador Retriever | 4 years of service | Explosives detection | Cammie is used often to conduct sweeps for explosives during bomb threats or large events. Her handler is Barry Vradenburgh.

• Yubie | Dutch Shepherd | 7 years of service | Narcotics search | Assists on patrol with vehicle searches + is trained to assist with searches in buildings and residents. Clayton Holmes is Yubie’s handler.

• Rex | Belgian Malinois | 3 years of service | Patrol, criminal apprehension, evidence detection, narcotics detection/tracking | Rex is able to detect the odors of illegal drugs + is also trained in tracking, which is usually used to track criminals who have fled on foot. He will apprehend “any suspect that he comes in contact with during a building search.” His handler is Jeremy Wilson.

• Anik| German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix | 6 years of service | Tracking, evidence search, criminal apprehension, handler protection, narcotics detection | Anik is “well balanced” and loves to play when he’s not working. His handler is A. Bolton.

CPD thinks of the K9s as officers, and they get the dogs to train when they are as young as 14 months. The average cost of a dog is about $8,000 but if CPD purchased a dog that was already trained, it could cost as much as $25,000 per animal.

Quoteworthy

“Our dogs are a valuable asset and are used to protect our handlers, officers, and citizens from dangerous criminals.” — CPD Spokesman Trevor Tomas