After six weeks and 300 hours of training in Albuquerque, New Mexico, K9 Leo, and his handler Door County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Matthew Tassoul are back and ready for certification.  The course instruction included drug detection, tracking, building searches, and apprehension training.  Deputy Tassoul says the initial training went very well with Leo out west.

Tassoul adds that the new K9 duo will now go through testing of real-life scenarios in a controlled setting starting next week. After four days of being judged, K9 Leo and Tassoul will be fully certified and ready for assignments with the Door County Sheriff’s Department after November 4.  Leo is replacing K9 Odinn, who passed away four months ago.  The K9 program in Door County began in 2017 and is designed to respond to high-risk calls, traffic stops, and missing person searches.