Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Team Tops National Competition

October 27, 2014

An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 team has been named one of the very best in the country.

The ECSO team won first place in the four-man team competition at the United States Police Canine Association Police Dog Trials this past week in Wilson, NC. Team members are Mark Smith with his K-9 Jeck, Wayne Gulsby with his K-9 Caleb  Carlos Lizarraga and his K-9 Saban, and Jason Land with his K-9 Edo. Lizarraga is employed by the Foley Police Department, but trains with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

Pensacola Police K-9 Handler Bruce Harris and his partner Enio finished third overall in the competition.

There were 104 K-9 teams from 15 states that took part in the event. They also had the top obedience score and were in the top five in criminal apprehension.

Pictured top: Mark Smith, Wayne Gulsby, Carlos Lizarraga, and Jason Land with their award. Pictured below: (L-R)  Land with K-9 Edo, Gulsby with K-9 Caleb and Smith with K-9 Jeck during the national police trials in Wilson, NC. Pictured bottom: K-9 Edo. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

10 Responses to “Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Team Tops National Competition”

  1. perdido fisherman on October 29th, 2014 11:56 am

    Great Job to all of those involved, I have a great respect for these dogs, you could never get a cat to do this kind of work.

  2. traumaqueen on October 29th, 2014 4:58 am

    Great job guys and K9 partners!!

  3. Larry Walker on October 28th, 2014 8:03 pm

    Outstanding! Great work, guys (and dogs)!

  4. Sage 2 on October 28th, 2014 3:38 pm

    It just shows our sheriff’’s dep’t. is not going to the dogs…as some imply.
    Great Job! K-9 Teams!

  5. ajhenn on October 27th, 2014 6:04 pm

    Congratulations officers and K9’s! Job well done!

  6. Vicky pagonis on October 27th, 2014 2:06 pm

    Awesome job by all….it is a lot of hard work and time spent with training, and its nice to show them off every once in a while out side of their normal duties….proud to say I have seen them work in real life as well….need more of them this day and time….great job again everyone!!

  7. No Excuses on October 27th, 2014 10:35 am

    Awesome! Congratulations team!

  8. Ware-Ehlers on October 27th, 2014 8:39 am

    Congratulations to all of these great Officers, and their K9’s. Great job.

  9. Jcellops on October 27th, 2014 8:28 am

    I was fortunate enough to see an exhibition of this canine program a few years ago while I was enrolled in the Citizens Law Enforcement Academy (CLEA) at the Escambia sheriff’s department…it was so impressive to watch the dogs and the trainers in action! It’s no wonder they placed so high! Great job!

  10. Jane on October 27th, 2014 4:38 am

    Congratulations to the men and the dogs for an excellent job! They work very hard and deserve our thanks and the recognition!