Article Contributed on: 3/14/2008 12:13:38 PM
Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy
John Glassburner and his partner, K-9 "
Huka," graduated on February 22, 2008, in Salt Lake City, Utah, from the Utah Police Officer Standards & Training Detector Dog Class.
Nineteen K-9 teams successfully completed the six weeks Detector Dog Class. Five handlers, including Deputy Glassburner, were certified as Narcotic/Explosive Dog Instructors. K-9 Huka, who is currently certified in Colorado, received his Utah certification as a Narcotics Dog.
The course covered K-9 deployment, training, legal issues and technical information. For instructor certification, John Glassburner assisted in training the other K-9 Teams as handlers and detection dogs.
Certification involved reality-based scenarios in narcotic/explosive detection. One scenario included the teams being deployed to locate three stashes of narcotics which had been hidden in a residence. During many of the scenarios a diversion was present.
Deputy Glassburner and K-9 Huka will be returning to Utah in April to attend the Patrol Class as an instructor candidate.