New K 9 Officer And Partner Working Hard In Chickasaw County

CHICKASAW COUNTY, MISS. (WCBI) – A new K 9 team is hard at work in Chickasaw County.

Chickasaw County K 9 Officer B J Gladney trains frequently with his partner.

Gladney has been with the sheriff’s department since 2010 but recently became the K 9 officer. His first assignment was to bond with ‘Rex” The Dutch shepherd has been with the department for more than two years.

‘Rex’ and Officer Gladney recently completed the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Association Basic Police Canine Training course. The nine-week course covers areas such as narcotics detection, obedience, patrol activities, tracking, and criminal apprehension.

During final testing and certification, K 9 Rex and Handler Gladney placed first in narcotics detection.

“It is 100 cones, they put narcotics under the cones, find a path you go, the main thing is you got to trust your dog,” Officer Gladney said.

Officer Gladney demonstrated how Rex can sniff out items discarded by a fleeing suspect. I dropped a set of keys on the grounds of the training yard, and once given the command, Rex quickly found them.

K 9 Rex can do it all and so far, Officer Gladney’s proudest moments with Rex are when he’s helped find people who have gone missing.

“I got a call to track a kid in Monroe County, and I got there and numerous people had been in the area, but being that I knew the demeanor of the dog, we got on track, and in about ten to twelve minutes, I had the little kid right there with me,” Gladney said.

Sheriff James Meyers says Rex and Officer Gladney are a big asset to the county.

“Officer Gladney and the dog are just a perfect match, Officer Gladney has been around dogs all his life, he owns one personally, he knows a lot about dog training and all this took was getting him with our dog, getting him certified and they’ve bonded very well, and it’s a real good team,” Sheriff Meyers said.

‘Rex’ was purchased with help from the community. Sheriff Meyers says support from the community has helped the department buy supplies and other equipment for the K 9 team.