K-9 Officer Lobo is doing an impressive job at picking up scents.
K-9 Lobo from Salem PD, NH shows great promise.
Lobo is a fifteen-month-old Belgian Malinois working for the Salem Police Department in New Hampshire. The National Police Dog Foundation assisted with his purchase about two months ago.
Currently, Lobo and his handler, Officer Argenis Gomez, are training at the Boston K-9 Academy. Lobo is building and practicing his skills every day, and will graduate at the end of December.
This 14-week patrol training keeps Lobo and Officer Gomez very busy. Each morning consists of laying out tracks to use for food tracking. Later, they add to the challenge and have the dogs find a ball in very tall grass. To ensure that they aren’t just using their eyes, the dogs are spun around multiple times before they are allowed to look for the ball. Their days end with criminal apprehensions, either apprehending an agitator with a special training bite sleeve, or tracking one in the woods.
Officer Gomez has explained that Lobo is doing a very impressive job. He’s “able to pick things up well,” allowing Lobo to learn and grow more each day. He has also displayed his athletic prowess, as he is one of the only dogs in training that can easily jump over a six-foot fence. Gomez proudly adds that he often gets comments about Lobo’s good looks and beautiful coloring.
Additionally, this training has allowed for Lobo and Officer Gomez to strengthen their bond. Lobo is always focused on helping Officer Gomez, even among people calling for him or other distractions. Gomez explains their bond at training using a “fetch” metaphor—some dogs “just return the ball to the closest handler,” but Lobo always makes sure to return it to his Gomez.
Next year, Lobo will participate in another training academy to specialize in explosive and firearm detection. Gomez is confident in Lobo’s capability—he has picked up article detection very quickly, and shown his potential in detecting specific scents. Through public donations, the NPDF was able to assist the Salem Police Department, and looks forward to hearing about what K-9 Lobo and Officer Gomez can accomplish together.
Written by Maya D.
NPDF is proud to have assisted Salem PD, NH in the purchasing and initial training of Lobo.