News : VINTON POLICE K-9 UNIT’S REGULAR TRAINING PAYS OFF AT RECERTIFICATION

Sgt. Parmater and Gino during a routine sniff of lockers at Vinton-Shellsburg High School

Sgt. Parmater and Gino complete annual recertification testing

The Vinton Police Department’s K-9 unit recently completed two days of recertification testing in Cedar Rapids under the requirements of the North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA). During the recertification testing, the Vinton PD K-9 unit, consisting of Sgt. Parmater and Gino, impressed the evaluators and successfully completed each skill on their first attempt.

K-9 teams are required to recertify annually. The recertification tests the abilities of each dog and handler in a variety of topic areas and scenarios including; obedience, tracking, area search, building searches, article recovery, aggression control, and narcotics detection. The goal of recertification is to ensure each team is maintaining high training standards and is ready for operations.

Sgt. Ben Parmater and Gino completed their initial training and started patrolling the streets of Vinton in December 2016 and they have been very active since then. The team has been a vital resource which has been called upon many times by Vinton PD officers and other area agencies to search for hidden suspects, drugs, and other items. The team keeps their skills sharp for the street and recertification by regularly training both locally and with other area K-9 units.

The Vinton PD K-9 unit is supported through the generosity of the community. Food is donated by Theisens and the Earthborn Dog Food Company. Veterinary care is donated in part by the LaPorte City Vet Clinic. Other donations are accepted year-round to pay for other necessities and also to fund a future replacement K-9 upon Gino’s anticipated retirement within the next five years.