Crockett’s Pet Project for 2020 is the Craven County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit. Our goal is to help raise funds for their needs. We rate them as Five Paws Up.
Police Dogs: “Just the facts, Ma’am.”
They identify by scent first, then voice, then by silhouette.
A dog’s sense of smell is 200-400 times stronger than a human. A bloodhound can smell a human buried 12 feet underground and can sometimes follow a scent of a missing person weeks later
Police Dogs serve from six to nine years.
German shepherds can search an area four times faster than a human
K-9s can sniff out a car in three minutes.
A K-9 is trained to bite and hold – not to chew or release quickly.
Potential K-9s don’t start training until they are between 12 and 15 months of age.
Craven County Sheriff’s Unit K-9 Unit
Sheriff Hughes and his department have been resourceful in building this unit and our community has been wonderful in giving donations. It usually costs around $15,000 to buy and train a police dog. Our police dogs were donated or brought in from other departments. They are:
K-9 Rhys
K-9 Ghost – Belgian Malinois
K-9 Ringo – Belgian Malinois
K-9 Stihl – Belgian Malinois
K-9 Nibbles – Pit Bull
K-9 Rhys – Bloodhound
K-9 Nibbles was rescued in 2015 from a suspected dog-fighting ring in Ontario Canada. He came to us by way of an organization in Philadelphia, PA, called Throw Away Dogs who specializes in rehabilitating and training dogs for law enforcement.
K-9 Rhys was donated from a nonprofit organization called Highland Canine Connect from Harmony, NC.
Every month the K-9 Team with the most illegal narcotics taken off the streets is awarded “Top Dog of the Month.”
According to Sheriff Hughes, our K9 program is an essential part of our fight against illegal narcotics being sold and trafficked in our county.
Learn more about our K-9s by viewing their very own FB page: Craven County Sheriff’s Office – K-9 Unit.
Donations in any amount are appreciated. You can mail your check to the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, 1100 Clarks Road, New Bern, NC 28562, and in the memo section, add Sheriff’s K-9 Unit. Your donation will make our county even safer.
As the Pet
Sitters International 2020 Pet Sitter of the Year I have the opportunity to
select a “pet” project for giving back to my community. I’ve chosen the Craven County Sheriff’s K-9
Unit. These specially trained police dogs are important to our safety, a new
initiative in the county, and largely underfunded.
Sheriff Chip Hughes has a strong interest in the health and
welfare of the animals in our county. He promotes pet adoptions, visited the
storm shelter during the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, adopted a family pet,
hosted the first Craven County Pet Expo, established the new animal protection
services division, and has joined the fight against animal abuse and neglect in
Craven County. His actions have inspired
me to support his K-9 Unit.
Officer Rebecca Hopper oversees the K-9 program and
described some of their specific needs to establish the team on a limited
budget. She noted that any donation,
large or small, would be used toward the purchase of items that are needed
immediately:
Hot-N-Pop Heat Sensors for Patrol Vehicles –
vehicle kennels $2,500 and sensors $1,500
Craven Wants a Pack
Jeanne Crockett, K-9 Ringo, and Sheriff Chip Hughes.
The goal is to build the unit up to an eight dog K-9 Patrol.
Ongoing training will be needed for the dogs and their handlers and new dogs
and officers will be added. Officer
Hopper reports that purchasing a trained police dog is approximately an $11,000
investment. However, there are
organizations like the Throw Away Dogs Project (TADP) that train and
donate dogs who need a second chance.
K-9 Nibbles, our newest deputy, is a Pitbull with a rough
start. TADP rescued him, trained him as a police dog, and donated him to the
Craven County team. On January 23, Nibbles
was sworn in as the rookie K-9
member of our Sheriff’s growing pack.
Police dogs are trained to track criminals, perform search
and rescue, sniff out illegal materials, and support their handlers in many
ways. In Craven County, they are turning
routine traffic stops into major drug hauls effectively removing dangerous
drugs off the streets before they get into the hands of our youth, family, and
colleagues.
K-9s Stihl, Ringo, Ghost, and Nibbles are off to a great
start serving and protecting our community. I feel, it is important for us to
support them, their training, and to provided them with the tools they need to
perform their best.
My first donation was made in January, and I encourage
others to follow suit. You can mail your check to the Craven County Sheriff’s
Office, 1100 Clarks Road, New Bern, NC 28562, and in the memo section, add Sheriff’s
K-9 Unit. This is a donation that
will make our county even safer.
Jeanne Crockett
As the owner of Crockett’s Critter Care, I want you to know that you can reach out to me directly with any question, compliment, or concern you have about the care of your pet.
As the owner of Crockett’s Critter Care, I want you to know that you can reach out to me directly with any question, compliment, or concern you have about the care of your pet.