The Canine Unit is assigned to the Patrol Division, there are nine patrol canine teams and they work in the three policing areas operated by the Sheriff's Department. The canines are all of the Shepherd breed and are purchased from a police canine kennel. The patrol dogs work the standard 40 hour week and all live at home with their assigned handler. The handler is assigned a marked patrol canine vehicle which is home garaged.

The Sheriff’s Department deploys these canines to protect officers, apprehend criminals, and utilize the dog’s presence as a psychological deterrence for crime prevention. It has been proven that a single officer and a dog can arrest and contain several suspects effectively and in a safe manner. A canine’s superior sensory capabilities provide competent and extremely effective defense for a lone officer on patrol. Also, a dog trained to track can trail a man to his hiding place even when the trail is an hour or more old.

One of the goals of the canine unit is to increase community relations through demonstrations at schools, public events etc. The canine demonstrations primarily focus on children programs, but we have found that the adults are just as intrigued as to the training and abilities of a Sheriff’s canine. Members of the unit have discovered that quite often the public is misinformed as to the uses of the canine and how they are employed. Through demonstrations, handlers educate the public on the fact that canines are not vicious, but actually well trained animals, under complete control, capable of completing a wide variety of tasks. As a part of the demonstration there is direct interaction with the canine and the public which demonstrates the social side of the canines. These demonstrations are usually provided to schools, church groups, college career days, community groups, and other public functions. The canine unit, annually provides a canine demonstration for the Red Ribbon Week kick-off at Bulldog Stadium, and the Sheriff’s Department DARE camps.