After ten weeks of intense training, Idaho graduates two new four legged Deputies ready serve the region.

For the past two and half months Deputy Jason Wiedebush of Bonner County and Deputy Austin Cady of Kootenai County have been commuting to the Spokane Police Academy learning the art of Police Patrol Dog Handling.

Deputy Wiedebush and his new partner, “Konig”, a two year old Malinois Dutch Shepherd mix, and Deputy Cady with his new partner, “Ricky”, a three and a half year old Malinois, have completed both Idaho and Washington certification standards and are now ready for real life Police K-9 work.

The dog teams were exposed to nearly 500 hours of obedience and control, tracking, area searching, article searching, case law, report writing, dog care and reality based training. The Spokane Police Department takes the lead in hosting and instructing several K-9 schools each year which are attended by students both nationally and internationally.

The class was instructed by WSPCA Master Trainer SPD Officer Shawn Kendall, SPD Officer Paul Gorman and from Idaho, Kootenai County Deputy Rich Lyons.

This course is both physically and academically challenging. Both dog teams performed exceptionally and will be a great asset to their agencies and surrounding regions.

The students are set to formally graduate on Wednesday, May 2^nd at 6:00pm. The instructors, students and K-9’s will be available for interviews and demonstrations from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm on that day at the Spokane Police Academy, N. 2302 Waterworks, Spokane WA. 99212.

Please feel free to drop in between 3:30 and 5:30 or contact Officer Kendall at (509) 209-7185, e-mail at skendall@spokanepolice.org for other requests.