Walking around the University of South Carolina’s campus, it’s not uncommon to see dogs in police vests and students stopping to pet the pups and say hello to the officers holding the leash.
It’s not uncommon also to see students with stickers of each dog — given out by the university police department — adorning water bottles and laptops. But the dogs are not just for easy pets or for decorating personal belongings.
They’re police officers working closely with each of their partners to ensure student safety by detecting weapons and explosive materials and recently took home nine awards at the United States Police Canine Association’s (USPCA) National Detector Dog Trials.
The annual event, hosted this year by the Stockton University Police Department, is a chance for K-9 teams to showcase each unit’s talents and sharpen skills related to motor vehicle, luggage, building or parcel searches. The USC K-9 duos competed alongside teams from across the United States to include the New York City Police Department and the Central Intelligence Agency.
“Our K-9 teams performing at such a high level in a national competition is a tremendous source of pride for our department. Their success reflects the discipline and dedication these handlers and K-9s put in every single day, often when no one is watching," says Chris Wuchenich, USC's associate Vice President and chief of police.
"The community should have great confidence in the service these teams provide. They are highly trained, deeply committed and always ready to answer the call. It also takes courage to step forward and compete against the best, and their performance is a testament to their professionalism, teamwork, and commitment to excellence.”
Sgt. Mark Tevepaugh and his K-9, Poppy, took home four awards as part of the trials, including first place as a region team. The duo also took home second place honors in both the vehicle and parcel search competitions and seventh place in overall explosives.
Cpl. Byron Capers and his K-9, Lucky, earned fourth place in the parcel search competition and finished 10th in overall explosives while Officer Alexandra Krisanda and Amos, her K-9, won fourth in vehicle search and 13th in overall explosives.
Capers, Krisanda, Lucky and Amos won third place in the department team competition as well. Each team also walked away with USPCA’s National Explosives and Firearm Detection recertification.
USC’s police department also saw one of its other K-9 officers, Rudy, retire this week. Rudy joined the agency in February 2021 and logged more than 100 deployments and 1,200 training hours while being a familiar face at community events like USC’s new student orientation.