They help rescue people during times of natural disaster. They can sniff out poached wildlife. And for the 10 Texas Game Warden K-9 teams stationed across the state, these highly trained dogs are truly a warden’s best friend. Thanks to the generous support of private donors, the Texas Game Warden K-9 unit got off the ground in 2013.
“Support from Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) really helped jump-start our effort,” said Texas Game Warden Captain Jason Davis, who leads the K-9 and Search and Rescue teams. “Thanks to the donations from private individuals and grants from charitable foundations, our unit is now 10 teams strong and we assist wardens and other law enforcement agencies across the state.”
In 2015 alone, K-9 teams saw 215 deployments, and over half of those deployments were to assist other agencies. These deployments led to numerous rescues and resulted in 87 criminal cases. In a very short amount of time, the K-9 Team has become a great asset to law enforcement agencies throughout Texas and to the 26 million residents of the state whom they help protect.
Watch this video about how these amazing animals are trained.
TPWF members help support the Texas Game Warden K-9 Team. You can help support them, too, by becoming a member today.
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