Skagit County Sheriff's Office adds two K-9 units

The Skagit County Sheriff's Office has added two trained K-9s, Fred and Dutch, to assist with patrol, narcotics detection and searches; community donations funded their adoption.

Skagit County Sheriff's Office has built a two-dog K-9 unit over the past two years. The team includes Fred, a German shepherd, and Dutch, a German shepherd/Belgian malinois mix. The dogs are trained to track suspects, detect narcotics and assist in search-and-rescue. Deputies Erik Kading and Andrew Mueller are paired with Fred and Dutch, respectively. Program details: - Fred and Dutch were selected from dogs with high-performance bloodlines and brought from Europe through a vendor in Alabama after testing for confidence, agility and temperament. - Dutch is certified in patrol and narcotics detection; Fred has completed patrol training and will begin narcotics certification at a later time. - Training for patrol involves about 400 hours, with an additional roughly 200 hours for narcotics work, plus bonding and obedience drills such as call-offs. - The pair split duties to provide seven-day coverage, with one day each week reserved for training. - Each dog cost between $13,000 and $16,000, and community donations played a key role in funding their adoption and program costs. - Deputy Jason Moses and handlers emphasize community engagement through demonstrations at schools, safety fairs and National Night Out, and officials hope to expand to four K-9s when funding allows. Summary: Fred and Dutch assist with operational work on the street and serve as a point of contact with the public through demonstrations and events. Weekly training and local donations have been central to sustaining the program, and officials report a desire to expand the unit to four dogs if funding becomes available.