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K9 Unit

K9 Unit

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit currently consists of Deputy Tyler Henriksen partnered with K9 Artus, Deputy Travis Lange partnered with K9 Jax, Sergeant Ronald Stage partnered with K9 Riley, Deputy Blake Brandner partnered with K9 Bac, and Deputy Robin Messer with K9 Rico. They are all assigned to the patrol division.

The current K9 Unit started in 1995 with now retired K9 Ispi. Typically dogs sought by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office are trained in drug detention, tracking, article searches, handler protection, criminal apprehension, building searches and area searches.

All Columbia County Sheriff's Office K9 teams are required to go through monthly training in the above areas. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office dogs are certified through American Police Canine Association.

The dogs' detection ability enables the handler to conduct thorough and complete searches with minimal time and personnel as well as increasing safety to officers.

Each dog lives with its assigned handler.

Throughout the year, this team is available to assist wherever needed anywhere in the county.

The main value of the K9 Unit lies in the mere presence on the street. The psychological and deterring effect cannot be measured. This helps assist the Columbia County Sheriff's Office with its primary function of preserving life and property.

Any questions or comments can be directed to
Lieutenant Jordan Haueter (608) 742-4166

Additional K9 Unit History

K9 Artus

K9 Artus joined the K9 Unit in January 2020 and is handled by Deputy Tyler Henriksen. Artus is a German Shepard and was born on September 11, 2018 in the Netherlands. He is a dual purpose patrol dog trained in criminal apprehension, tracking, narcotics detection and article searches. His favorite toy is also a tennis ball.

K9 Jax

K9 Jax joined the Columbia County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit in July 2017 and is partnered with Deputy Travis Lange. K9 Jax is a German Shepherd mix and was born on April 23, 2016 in the Czech Republic. Deputy Lange and K9 Jax are certified for narcotics detection, to conduct tracking for lost or fleeing persons, criminal apprehension, and article searches in open areas. K9 Jax's favorite toy is a tennis ball.

K9 Riley

K9 RileyK9 Riley joined the Columbia County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit in December 2020 and is partnered with Deputy Ron Stage. Riley is a male German Shepherd weighing in at about 100 pounds.  Riley was born in the Czech Republic in September 2019 and his commands are given in Czech. He is a dual-purpose patrol dog trained in criminal apprehension, tracking, narcotics detection, and article/evidence searches.  In Riley's time off, he enjoys playing fetch and is never far from his favorite Kong bone.

K9 Bac

Deputy Blake Brandner was partnered with K9 Bac in September 2020. Bac is a male German Shepard that was born on July 14, 2017 in Germany. Bac is one of five active K9 teams for the Sheriff’s Office. Bac is a dual-purpose police dog. He is trained to find drugs, evidence/articles and to conduct building searches. Bac is also trained to perform criminal apprehensions and tracking. Bac’s favorite thing to do is play fetch and eat. His favorite toy is his Kong.

K9 Rico

Deputy Robin Messer was partnered with K9 Rico in July of 2021. K9 Rico is a Belgian Malinois born on Feb 4th, 2019 in the Netherlands. K9 Rico is trained to detect drugs, locate evidence and articles, and track missing people and/ or fleeing suspects. K9 Rico’s favorite toy is a Kong on a rope and he enjoys playing tug.