Do not be alarmed if you see an increased number of Police K9 vehicles as you drive around the Kent Island area, June 18 – 25. The North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA) is in town holding their 33rd annual National Workshop. Hosted by the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office and the Eastern Shore Police K9 Association, over 100 K9 teams from across the US and Canada will be in town for week-long training sessions and certifications.
Plans for the workshop began in July of 2008, when members of the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office K9 Team approached the Sheriff Hofmann with the proposal of hosting such an event. “Queen Anne’s County is a great location to host such an event. We are centrally located on the east coast and Queen Anne’s has so much to offer. The K9 team has worked steadily over the past couple of years to make this happen” said Sheriff Gary Hofmann. “In addition to the training and the public demo, this helps to bring an economic boost to Queen Anne’s County” added Hofmann.
The workshop will cover all utility phases, including tactical techniques and scenarios, plus the specialty phases of narcotics, explosives, cadaver, and accelerants. All levels of experienced K-9 teams are welcomed as training and classes are geared to the experience level of the individual teams. The K9 teams are training are several locations in the county including local farms, vacant business buildings, Kent Narrows and in the water.
The week will culminate with a Public Demonstration of these highly trained K9s and their partners. The demonstration is being held at Kent Island High School, 900 Love Point Rd., Stevensville, on Wednesday June 22 at 7:00pm. The field will open at 6:00 so families are encouraged to come early, see various police vehicles, seized and transformed DARE cars, and watch the “parade of squad cars” as the officers arrive at the school with lights flashing.
Families are invited to remain after the show to personally meet some of the K9 officers, their partners, take pictures and receive K9 Trading Cards. Admission is Free. Police memorial wristbands will be available for a $5.00 contribution. Concessions will be available.