Jan 18, 2023

Saline Co. Sheriff’s school resource officers get new K-9 partners

Posted Jan 18, 2023 4:58 PM
<b>Deputy Braden Long and his K-9, Piper, are assigned to USD 306 working at Southeast of Saline. Piper is a Basenji/Border Collie mix. </b>Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office
Deputy Braden Long and his K-9, Piper, are assigned to USD 306 working at Southeast of Saline. Piper is a Basenji/Border Collie mix. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office

Saline County Sheriff's Office

The USD 306 and 307 schools now have investigative therapy dogs, thanks to the Saline County Sheriff's Office.

In December, two Saline County Sheriff’s deputies traveled to the Brevard County Florida Sheriff’s Office Paws and Stripes College to attend a week of training in the handling of a Law Enforcement Investigative Therapy Dog. They trained with their new K-9 partners who had just completed 14 weeks of training to become nationally registered therapy dog teams.

The unique program offered by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office uses rescued dogs that are trained by inmates under the supervision of professional trainers to provide trained therapy dogs at no cost.

Deputy Tyler Casteel and his K-9, Jax, are assigned to USD 307 working at the Ell-Saline schools. Jax is a Alaskan Malamute mix.
Deputy Tyler Casteel and his K-9, Jax, are assigned to USD 307 working at the Ell-Saline schools. Jax is a Alaskan Malamute mix.

The dog teams can provide assistance in a number of ways, for example: calming people in crisis, interviews with children and adults, critical incident debriefings, and other public events.