Akiro, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, traveled from France to work with Cody Lattin of Rio Arriba, NM, Sheriff’s Office. Since beginning work in November 2016, Akiro has already become a great asset to the team. He assists the agency in locating narcotics at traffic stops, and he also works for the DEA and the Region 3 Drug Task Force Team in locating narcotics on search warrants. As a patrol-certified K-9, he also aids the Rio Arriba Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in finding and apprehending any fugitives at large.
Although Akiro is fairly new to the Rio Arriba team, his handler, Cody Lattin, says that “K-9 Akiro has already made some significant busts.” In his first successful find, Akiro located 3 pounds of marijuana at a traffic stop, and his most recent bust yielded 2.67 oz of heroin from a residence subject to a search warrant. He has also found significant amounts of other narcotics for the DEA and Region 3 Drug Task Force Team since coming to Rio Arriba.
Cody Lattin credits the National Police Dog Foundation for assisting in the purchasing and training of K-9 Akiro. “The National Police Dog Foundation was fair and assisted me with achieving my goals of being a K-9 handler,” he says. “It helped me significantly with paying for my training with K-9 Akiro as well as paying for K-9 Akiro. The National Police Dog Foundation has truly been a significant help.”
Written by Nicole Hymovitz
“NPDF is proud to assist K-9 units in the purchasing of dogs.”