Pa. PD receives first K-9 unit

Leo is trained in narcotics detection and human tracking

By Nicole Hymovitz
National Police Dog Foundation

SNYDER COUNTY, Pa. — Snyder County Sheriff’s Office, PA was proud to welcome K-9 Leo, a 1.5-year-old German Shepherd, on April 17, 2017. Leo was purchased in February, and he underwent 10 weeks of extensive training in narcotics detection and human tracking before he was joined by Chief Deputy Lucas Bingman in handler school.

Chief Deputy Lucas Bingman, Leo’s handler, says that training with Leo was “definitely a learning experience. As a dog owner, you think you know a lot about how dogs work. After taking a handler’s course, you find out that you didn’t know as much as what you thought you did.”

Now that he has completed training, Leo has spent his first month in the newly enacted K-9 Unit successfully assisting officers in the field with drug detection. “Leo has a very high work drive,” says Bingman. “He definitely knows when it’s time to go to work.”

Full story: Snyder County’s First K-9 Unit