Rochester K9 Teams Ace National Certification Training

They're some of the cutest officers on the police force in Rochester, and now they're tops in their class in their latest certification training too.

Rochester Police K9 officers Sarge and Riley (who are brothers from the same litter, by the way) just placed well into the top half of their latest national certification training in sniffing out explosives.

This ABC-6 story has more on the national training both Sarge and Riley-- along with their human partners-- just completed out in New Jersey. Sarge and Riley are both 3-year-old British Labs, and were raised right here in southeast Minnesota.

They're partnered with Rochester police officers Brian Rousell and [redacted]. Both teams recently finished extensive national training in odor recognition, the story said. They also completed an indoor and outdoor search for explosives, followed by a package search.

And both aced their tests! The story says Sarge placed 4th in the package search, and both placed in the top 15 out of 40 canines to earn their National Detector Dog Certification.

I had the pleasure of meeting both Officers Sarge and Riley during last year's Rochesterfest, and I was impressed! The level of obedience these dogs have attained, and how well-behaved and trained they are, is almost mindboggling-- especially if you're struggling to just get your dog to just stop jumping up on you, or maybe go potty outside everytime. (And yes, Asher-- our new dog-- I'm looking at you!)

Well done, officers! Congratulations on your impressive results and new certification-- and thanks for your service and for helping to keep us safe!

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