About the K9 Program

The West St Paul Police K9 Program has had five dual-purpose dogs and two single-purpose dogs. We currently have two patrol dogs that are dual certified in Patrol and Narcotics: K9 Cecil whose handler is Officer Nicole Murphy, and K9 Bear whose handler is Officer Raymond Swanson. K9 Cecil is from the Czech Republic and K9 Bear is from Poland.

Canine dogs can be used in a multitude of tasks. Because of their superior sense of smell, they are used to find people (either suspects or missing persons), articles/evidence such as guns, cell phones, and wallets. Our canines also search for narcotics and are trained to locate persons by tracking, searching vehicles, and open area searches.

Our canines have gone through a vigorous 14-week training course. In this training, they learned obedience, article searches, narcotic searches, agility, apprehension, and tracking. The canines continue to train after school and have to do a national certification every year.

The canines will be out at multiple community events and K9 demos throughout the year.

Interested in making a donation to K9 Program? Donate here.