City police to host workshop for dog trainers
09/04/08
John Willis
Calhoun’s not going to the dogs, but the dogs will be coming to Calhoun in October.
Officer Dale Pullen, the Calhoun Police Department’s K-9 handler, said more than 100 police officers and their canine partners will be in Calhoun the first full week of October.
The police dogs and their handlers will be in town Oct. 5-10 for the 2008 Georgia State K-9 Workshop, which is sponsored by the North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA) and hosted by the Calhoun Police Department.
"Calhoun residents will see a lot of police K-9 units around town during that week," Pullen said. "I think everyone will be interested in what is going on."
This is the first time that the annual Georgia workshop, which has been held in Bartow County for the past seven years, has been held in Calhoun, Pullen said.
The K-9 teams will be put through their paces at the Northwest Georgia Fairgrounds and judged by master trainers from around the United States, Pullen said.
Teams can be certified in narcotics and explosives detection, tracking, detection, obedience, building and area search and aggression.
"All of these standards have to be met on an annual basis," said Pullen, who works with his canine partner Simba.
Pullen, who has been working on the details of the seminar since November 2007, said Calhoun Police Chief Garry Moss has given his whole-hearted support to the holding the Georgia Training Seminar in Calhoun.
Ohio-based NAPWDA, which strives to enhance the use of police work dogs by law enforcement agencies through continuing education in the form of local, state, and national workshops, has certified more than 19,000 K-9 teams in the United States.
Pullen said the Northwest Georgia Fair Association has been particularly helpful in allowing the K-9 units to use the fairgrounds on Ga. 53 west of Calhoun for the event.
"We couldn’t do this without the cooperation of the community," he said.
Pullen said local sponsors include Gordon County Drug Task Force, Prater Ford Mercury, Dalton Wholesale Floors, Apache Mills, Service Chevrolet, Kent Chapman Insurance, Fox & Brindle Construction, Fair’s Auto Service, Georgia Bank & Trust, Gordon Central High School, Calhoun High School, Calhoun Middle School, Sonoraville High School, Ashworth Middle School, Anheuser-Busch, Northwest Georgia Fair Association, Citizens Against Meth, Mitch Ralston, Calhoun Pet Care, King Audio, I-Wispr, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn.