K-9 Unit

The K9 Unit is an integral part of the Sheriff's Office. The K9 Unit currently consists of eight members of the department.  There is a K9 Unit assigned to each of the four platoons in the Patrol Division. This ensures that a K9 Unit is working the streets of Nash County 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  There are also two K-9 Units assigned to the Highway Interdiction Team. In 2017, the Nash County Sheriff's Office received and began utilizing its very first Bloodhound to be used solely for tracking purposes.  Since then, we have added a second Bloodhound to our group.

Most all of the Sheriff's Office K9's are dual purpose K9's, in that they are trained in Narcotics and in Patrol. Most people associate Police K9's with sniffing out illegal drugs. Our K9's are trained to do that, but that is only a small portion of what they are capable of doing. The K9's are trained to:
  • Track and apprehend suspects
  • Search buildings and wooded areas for suspects
  • Search for evidence
  • Protect the handler
  • Track and locate lost children and missing elderly people



K9 Training

It takes a special dog to become a Police K9. Most Police K9s are either German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois breeds. All of our K9s are born and raised overseas in Europe and then imported to the United States to be trained. The K9s are actually trained right here in Nash County. Once a K9 is trained and put into service, the Sheriff's Office is usually able to get an average of six to eight years of service from that K9 depending on how healthy he/she stays.



Presentations & Education


Our K9 Units are quite often requested to do presentations and demonstrations at local civic, church, school, and kids events. This gives the citizens a first hand look at the K9s and also a chance to ask questions of the handlers and get a better understanding of how the K9s are used and what they can do. If you or your group are interested in having one of our K9 teams to conduct a demonstration, please contact Captain Miles Costa at miles.costa@nashcountync.gov.



K9 Pebbles