Houston METRO K-9s Win Narcotic Detection Awards

Officers from the K-9 unit of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, brought home two awards from the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association seminar held earlier this month in Angleton, Texas.

Officer John Wiggins and his K-9 partner Vigo placed first in the patrol competition and Officer Charles Wheeler and his dog Rock placed second.

"Our unit was one of 75 K-9 teams from Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana that attended this seminar," said Sgt. Tim McClelland, "so it's great to come home with top honors."

METRO's K-9 program was established in 1998 with a single narcotics K-9. Since then, the unit has grown to eight K-9 teams. These teams have provided assistance at many major events and continue to help agencies across Houston with narcotics detection, explosive detection, and criminal apprehension.

All METRO police K-9 teams have successfully completed certifications in obedience, patrol, and respective narcotics and explosives detection.

For more information about the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association, visit www.nndda.org .