Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Sheriff's Office Sergeant Trains Canine Teams in the Middle East

Sgt. Todd Fleenor and canine teams in the United Arab Emirates


Sgt. Todd Fleenor, K-9 Unit Supervisor of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, recently trained and certified several canine teams in the United Arab Emirates.

Sgt. Fleenor is a Master Canine Trainer for the International Police Work Dog Association. That organization requested that Sgt. Fleenor travel to the UAE to certify 15 canine teams in the area of narcotics detection for the country’s Federal Customs Authority. It is a new program for the country and its officials requested an evaluation and certification of the initiative.

For three days, Sgt. Fleenor conducted narcotics certifications in the areas of building searches, vehicle searches and open-area searches. He also toured the canine center and was given a detailed presentation of the plans and expectations of their program.

After completing certifications and evaluations, Sgt. Fleenor presented information from the International Police Work Dog Association, the narcotics certification and suggestions on how to improve the UAE’s program.

“I am very proud of Sgt. Fleenor and our entire Sheriff’s Office K-9 team,” Sheriff Tim Cameron said. “The men and women of our unit demonstrate excellence on both the national and international stage and I am very pleased that we can share our expertise across the globe.”