K-9 Zeus: San Luis Obispo County’s first explosive-trained K-9.
K-9 Zeus, a 2-year-old German Shepherd was bred in Germany and is now working for the University Police Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA. The National Police Dog Foundation assisted the department with the purchasing of Zeus in June 2018, and he soon began explosives training.
His handler, Officer Stephanie Pipan describes that the 4-week long training was a great way to learn about her new K-9. She explains how Zeus is a quick learner and caught on to the many training scents very fast—“as soon as he jumps out of the car, he is searching for the scents he is trained on, whether I give him a command or not.” She credits his success to his incredible drive to receive his toy reward, with his favorite toy being an old-school roll of Jute.
Zeus first began work as an explosives and weapons K-9 in August 2018, and will ideally attend patrol school in March 2019. His daily routine includes continued explosives, weapons, and obedience training. In addition to standard campus K-9 duties, Zeus plays a large supportive role in the Cal Poly community. Officer Pipan explains how Zeus “meets and greets students who are having a hard time away from home and their personal animals.”
Additionally, Zeus is the first explosive-trained K-9 in the county. Pipan explains, “other than state explosive K-9s, there are no explosive K-9s in our county or city departments. It is a great opportunity to assist other agencies when needed to help keep not just our campus, but our county safe.”
The National Police Dog Foundation is proud to see Zeus already making a great impact in his community and looks forward to seeing the K-9 continue to grow from his experiences.
Most law enforcement agencies do not have a budget for the purchase, training or protection of police K-9s. They heavily rely on generous public and corporate donations from people like you.
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