Sniffing out some wins: Terre Haute PD dogs compete in K9 Olympics
Aug. 30—The Terre Haute Police Department's K-9 unit did itself proud last week. Competing in the 2023 K-9 Olympics at Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana, against 110 other dogs from as far away as Brazil and Korea, Terre Haute's team sniffed out a dozen awards.
And they did so in 100-degree temperatures. Even athletes weren't competing in that heat.
Highlights included Sgt. Anthony Mazzon and his K-9 Pelkes claiming seven plaques, including 1st-place finishes for Scramble, Warehouse Detection and Building Search for Suspects and 2nd-place honors for Overall Explosives, Building Detection and Scent Logic. They also shared a second place for Overall Explosives Team.
Officer Thomas Welch and Rocky, who just completed training last year and have 10 months of K-9 experience, won 1st place in the Fast Dog competition.
Officer Jeffrey Knopp, with barely two months of K-9 experience, inherited a reassigned dog, Vader, and completed their first Olympic Trials and Certifications.
"They're a match made in heaven," said Sgt. Todd Haller, who has led the K-9 unit for nearly 25 years. "This year was their first year in competition, and Officer Knopp competed like a veteran. Next year, I'm sure he'll bring many of these plaques home, as well."
Credit also went to Sgt. Justin Sears, THPD's public information officer, who is also the force's K-9 trainer.
"I can't say enough about these guys," Haller said. "They work hard, they train constantly."
Sears presided over the press conference announcing the victories. He introduced the new officers on the K-9 team and a brand new K-9, Beau.
Beau, who will start the K-9 academy on Sept. 11 with Officer Kevin Love, a new handler, entered the event with a tennis ball in his mouth. Vader, who had been sitting quietly next to Knopp, saw Beau's ball and got jealous, barking out his envy. Knopp pulled a ball from his vest and gave it to Vader, quickly leaving him contented.
Sears said that the dogs employed by THPD come from Europe.
"They're imported from Europe [because] puppy programs are very hard and expensive," he explained. "They've been around for a long time in Europe. Typically, in Europe there are sporting dogs and sporting competitions; it's like Little League baseball here. Our kids are playing sports at a young age; there, they're training dogs at a young age."
Sears noted that the THPD look over hundreds, even thousands of dogs when making its selections. When they selected Pitts, he said, "two dogs we turned down were chosen by the Navy SEALs the next week."
Mazzon spoke of his relationship with Pelkes, with whom he's been a partner since June 2017.
"He'll be 8 in November — he's getting up there in age, but the benefit of that is ... we're at the point now where we're speaking the same language, we're on the same page and we've gotten better as a competitive team, as well."
Mazzon said the competition is arduous and can get complicated.
"One of the tricky things they do to throw us off is, one of the events is searching 60 items out in the field and among those 60 items they'll throw 20 tennis balls," he said. As mentioned, dogs consider balls to be awards, so to have a field strewn with them can be a mighty distraction.
Mazzon said that as a team, THPD officers and dogs were praised for their sound tactics. He touted benefits of having K-9s.
"The amount that the K-9s contribute to the community and the safety to the community is immeasurable," he said. "The return we get on these animals is something you can't put a price tag on."
David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.
