Ask any K-9 handler and they will be the first to tell you that a highly trained police dog is one of the best partners a law enforcement officer can have.  The Orange County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit provides a number of invaluable support services to the agency's mission.  The agency's K-9s are called upon daily to search for fleeing suspects, perform building searches and help locate missing persons.  K-9s are also tasked with searching for narcotics and explosives.  They are without a doubt, one of the  finest crime fighting assets.

The 24 K-9s Orange County utilizes are all specially bred for police work.  They are either selectively bred through local veterinary resources and raised from puppies by deputies or purchased and imported at the ages of 1 1/2 to 2 years.  Of the puppies bred locally, although superb animals, 5% or less go on to be working police dogs.  Dogs imported from Germany, Czechoslovakia and Holland come from the venders with guarantees that they will be healthy and able to pass the basic police dog courses.  Dogs that are found not suitable, for any reason during training, are rotated back to the vender and replaced with new candidates.  Often times the human half of a K-9 team will go through several K-9s before an acceptable partner is found.  Our police dogs cost $2500 to $3500 not including the cost of any training.  The basic course for the K-9 is 10 to 12 weeks and is conducted within the Orange County Sheriff's Office.  The dogs can be washed out at anytime during the training if they are found physically or emotionally unsuitable. 

Other than two bloodhounds used for special tracking purposes, OCSO uses male German Shepherds for police work.  The dogs are cared for by the handlers and live at home with their families.  The K-9 cars are modified with special equipment to ensure the safety  of the dogs at all times.  Additionally, through the generous donations  of citizens and the hard work of a very special young lady, Stacey Hillman ( www.penniestoprotectpolicedogs.org ) we also have bullet resistant vests for our K-9 partners.