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K-9

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Gilbert Police Department K9 Unit

K-9 Unit History

The Gilbert Police Department K-9 Unit was started in 1993 with a grant from the Criminal Justice Enhancement Fund (CJEF). The goal of the program at the time was to reduce Gilbert's escalating trend of street crimes and drug use. CJEF funds were accepted to purchase a narcotic detection / patrol K-9. The first canine member of the Gilbert Police Department was a German Shepherd named Cosmo.

Since its inception in 1993, thirteen different canines have served the Gilbert Police Department: Cosmo (German Shepherd: 1993-1999), Kimbo (Belgian Malinois: 1998-2004), Otto (Belgian Malinois - 1999-2005), Barca (Belgian Malinois 2003-2011), Seiko (Belgian Malinois: 2004-2009), Mike (Belgian Malinois 2005-2013), Chucky (Dutch Shepherd: 2008-2014), Zorro (Dutch Shepherd: 2009-2014), Murphy (Dutch Shepherd: 2013-2018), Lance (Dutch Shepherd, 2014-2016), Bono (Dutch Shepherd, 2014-2020), Santos (Dutch Shepherd 2018-2021), King (Belgian Malinois 2019-2020), Matti (Belgian Malinois), Rico (Belgian Malinois 2021-Present), Vader (2021-Present), and Kilo (2023-Present).

Today's K-9 Unit 

The Gilbert Police Department K-9 unit of today is still focused on the goals that started the program - to combat street crimes and drug use. The dogs help make our officers safer and more efficient in their jobs. The canines live at home with their handlers and go to work in specially outfitted patrol cars assigned to their human partners. While the dogs do all their work for free, the Department pays their food bill and makes sure they get the best healthcare!