August 22, 2016 at 11:34 am
K9 Team Spotlight: Warden Dave Chabot and K9 Ruby
Warden Dave Chabot began his career with the Maine Warden Service in 1997, first patrolling in Daaquam. Warden Chabot joined the K9 team in 2010 and now patrols with his K9 partner Ruby in the Greene/Turner area.
K9 Ruby is a six year old black labrador retriever with a stubborness that pushes her to succeed. K9 Ruby is certified in obedience, article search, tracking, hasty search and area search. She is a carefree dog who loves to play and have fun. When not on the job, K9 Ruby loves to swim. During her career, K9 Ruby has been the recipent of two awards for her work locating evidence for cases and 2 awards for successful search and rescue cases.
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Handlers and K9s often form a special bond; a relationship built on trust[/caption]
Maine Warden Service K9 Team: The Maine Warden Service first established the K9 team in 1980 under the direction of Game Warden Specialist Deborah Palman (retired). Since then, the program has expanded and has become an invaluable resource for the Maine Warden Service. There are currently nine K9/handler teams in the program, lead by Corporal Michelle Merrifield. Maine Warden Service K9s and handlers train a minimum of 320 hours under the direct supervision of a Maine Criminal Justice Academy certified trainer and must complete a field test to get their initial certification with the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. They must continue to train under the direction of a trainer a minimum of 16 hours per month and complete a field test annually to maintain certification. Maine Warden Service K9s are trained in the following areas: 1. Tracking: Following the trail of a person by using that persons individual scent. 2. Evidence/Article: Location of items containing human scent, gun powder residue or any other trained scent. 3. Hasty Search: Using the air to locate persons along natural barriers such as trails, wood lines, ditches, streams, and roads. The dog is trained to use the wind to follow human scent to locate injured and lost people. 4. Area Search: Using the air to locate an article or person in a specific area of probability. 5. Cadaver: K9s are trained in the detection of human remains. This is necessary when a search has been ongoing for a period of time in which the person is probably deceased. 6. Obedience: K9s are trained to be obedient and are required to be responsive to commands given by their handler. Over the years, Maine Warden Service K9s have been responsible for locating countless lost persons and have solved numerous fish and wildlife cases. They also assist other agencies with criminal investigations. Maine Warden Service K9 teams have earned a reputation of being successful and as a result, are often requested to travel abroad to assist other states and countries.
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