K-9 Unit
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office currently has six K-9 teams and they are assigned to the Patrol Division and Special Services Unit. There are five tracking/apprehension K-9 teams, and one trailing/tracking K-9 team. K-9 teams are on-call 24 hours a day. The K-9 teams devote a significant amount of time to ongoing training. They train individually almost every day and train with other K-9 teams in Central Oregon on a bi-weekly basis. Being a K-9 handler is a significant commitment. Our K-9 teams also regularly assist other law enforcement agencies in Central Oregon. Our tracking/apprehension K-9 teams are certified annually by the Oregon Police Canine Association and our trailing/tracking K-9 is certified annually by the National Police Bloodhound Association.
K9 Ronin and Deputy Mike Mangin
K9 Ronin is a Belgian Malinois and was born in Slovokia in June of 2019. Ronin was acquired by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office when he was 1.5 years old. Ronin is trained and certified in the State of Oregon as a Patrol (tracking/apprehension) K9. Ronin’s partner, Deputy Mike Mangin, has been a Patrol Deputy with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office since 2015.
K9 Roper and Deputy Nautique Simpson
K9 Roper is a German Shepherd/Dutch Shepherd and was born in Hungary in September, 2020. Roper was acquired by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office when he was 15 months old. Roper is trained and certified in the State of Oregon as a Patrol (tracking/apprehension) K9. Roper's partner, Deputy Nautique Simpson, has been a Patrol Deputy with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office since 2019.
K9 Rico and Deputy Ryan McNee
K9 Rico is a Belgian Malinois and was born in Mexico in 2019. Rico was acquired by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office when he was 14 months old. Rico is trained and certified in the state of Oregon as a patrol (tracking/apprehension) K9. Rico’s partner, Deputy Ryan McNee, has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2015.
K9 Copper and Deputy Donny Patterson
K9 Copper (named by the residents of Deschutes County) is a Bloodhound. Copper was donated to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office in 2019 by Tamaron Ranch Bloodhound Kennels in Chowchilla, California. This amazing donation was coordinated by Bob Cameron, a resident of Deschutes County, who has a lengthy history working with bloodhounds specifically for law enforcement agencies and search and rescue. K9 Copper and his partner, Deputy Patterson, trained and certified through the West Coast National Police Bloodhound Association (NPBA) as a trailing team. Deputy Donny Patterson has been a Patrol Deputy with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office since 2007.
Tracking/apprehension dogs, also called patrol dogs, are trained and certified to track and apprehend criminals and conduct searches for non-drug evidence. The dogs use their sensitive sense of smell, excellent hearing and sharp eyesight to track criminals, then use their presence, including barking, to apprehend the criminal. The dogs can also bite a criminal to apprehend them if the situation requires it. Additionally, a dog’s superior running speed allows them to easily catch a criminal who is running away.
The Bloodhound was the first dog specifically bred for superior scent capabilities. The breed can follow scent trails that are either minutes or days old, and has proven so reliable that this type of evidence is accepted in court. The Bloodhound is trained to trail a single person’s unique scent. The Bloodhound and handler can be another resource for deputies, officers, and investigators to utilize during their criminal and non-criminal investigations.
Bloodhound K9’s have the ability to scent discrimination unlike other patrol K9’s and they are not aggressive. The human body sheds approximately 50,000 skin cells an hour. These skin cells, or scurf, are invisible to us, but provide the scent the Bloodhound is trained to follow. A person’s scent/scurf is as unique as their fingerprint. Scent evidence is commonly collected by the K9 handler onto sterile gauze pads from anything the subject has sat on, touched, held, stood, or occupied. This scent article is then presented to the Bloodhound K9, and search for that specific human scent begins.
The assistance a Bloodhound K9 can provide: locating or providing direction of travel of suspects/missing persons, identifying or eliminating suspects with scent evidence obtained at crime scenes, identifying vehicles previously occupied by suspects, and leading deputies, officers, and investigators to areas or residences frequented by the suspect or lost person. The Bloodhound K9’s happy demeanor makes this breed exceptional for locating children.
