Wright County Sheriff’s Office K9 teams, featuring dogs K9 Saber and K9 Vader, earned high marks at a national competition held in Edina, Minnesota, earlier this month.
On May 4th through May 7th, the two Wright County Sheriff’s Office canine teams participated in the 2014 United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) National Detector Dog Trials hosted by the Edina, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Airport Police departments.
A total of 96 teams from around the country, including teams coming from as far away as New York and Texas, competed in the competition.
The competition consisted of two phases; searching rooms for hidden narcotics, and searching vehicles for hidden narcotics. The K9 teams were judged on how quickly and efficiently they could locate the drugs.
At the end of the competition, WCSO Deputy Dan Cotten with K9 Saber and Deputy Josh Tester with K9 Vader took second place in the two-person department team competition.
In the overall competition, Deputy Dan Cotten with K9 Saber took fifth place and Deputy Josh Tester with K9 Vader took ninth place in a field of some of the best narcotic detection dogs in the country.
“Our K9 units are among the most respected in the area,” Sheriff Joe Hagerty told NWCToday in a recent conversation. “It’s a real credit to the work these guys put in, and the trust that they have with their partner. The dogs are just fantastic to work with, and they’ve done some great work in the field around the county.”