(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – On April 7, 2017, K9 Balu, a 20-month old Belgium Malinois, began working as a single-purpose scent detection canine for the Alaska State Troopers in the Anchorage area. Since being on the job, K9 Balu has sniffed out some pretty impressive finds. He has been deployed nine times which has resulted in $40,860.00 in cash, 954.63 grams (2.1 lbs.) of methamphetamine and 2.5 grams of heroin seizures.
K9 Misty, who is posted in Ketchikan, also was certified as a single-purpose scent detection canine but has not begun working yet. She will assist with cases in Southeast Alaska after she heals from spading surgery.
The Alaska State Troopers expect to have four more trained and certified K9 teams at the end of the current K9 academy which ends May 26. These four canines will bring the AST Canine unit to a total of four drug detection canines and three dual-purpose canines. The K9 teams will be working in Anchorage, Ketchikan, Mat-Su Valley and Fairbanks.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]
