Last updated : December 23, 2024
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has a new soldier in its fight to keep drugs off the streets and out of the hands of local citizens, and for this latest addition to the department’s ranks, a successful search is as simple as following his nose.
In November 2014, officers celebrated the arrival of Dakota, the latest addition to the department’s K9 unit. Dakota will execute his new duties alongside the five other dogs that already work with Douglas County deputies in various capacities.
Dakota is a rather special breed of drug-sniffing dog. Like his four-legged co-workers he is capable of locating all kinds of illicit drugs, but he also has a nose for the manufactured varieties like the synthetic marijuana authorities say played a role in the March 10, 2012 death of a 14-year-old boy from Bremen. Dakota is reportedly the first of three Douglas County K9 officers to receive this specific type of training.
It is the memory of the boy, who was also named Dakota, that inspired the call for this new level of training for members of the department’s K9 unit. Following the death of Dakota Blaze Dyer, his father Lance Dyer made it his personal mission to continue fighting to keep drugs off the streets, no matter how long it takes. Just a few months after his son passed away, Lance Dyer had already organized a prescription pill collection drive, setting up boxes in key locations throughout the area in an effort to have unused drugs disposed of properly and keep them away from potential abusers.
The arrival of Dakota kicked off the latest effort on the part of law enforcement to up the ante in the local fight against drug distribution, use and abuse. The new K9 traveled by air from Maryland-based K9 training facility ScentLogix to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Then, after a car ride to Douglas County, he finally greeted his fellow police dogs at the sheriff’s office. Deputies, local elected officials and several community leaders were also on hand to welcome the newest officer to the force.
The sheriff’s office intends to bring Dakota into local schools, not only to locate any drugs that may be on campus, but also to help officers educate the children about the dangers of drug use.
The department plans to supply similar training to two additional K9 officers in the near future so they will eventually be able to help officers the way Dakota can, but the push to curb the local drug problem will not end there. Those who share Lance Dyer’s dedication to the cause are invited to make donations at a fund raising website, which is aimed at helping the sheriff’s office purchase more dogs that are trained to sniff out synthetic marijuana.
Upon meeting Dakota, Lance Dyer took to social media to express his satisfaction with the department’s latest addition.
“Dakota may be small, but something tells me he will run with the big dogs just fine,” he stated on his Facebook page.
