K9 Spotlight: Travis Snyder & Nala

Travis Snyder & Nala

Sheriff's Deputy / Corrections - K9 Handler

K9 Nala is a single purpose narcotics detection K9 (Belgian Malinois) assigned to our county jail.

I grew up training German Shorthaired Pointers for upland hunting, which is where I originally gained a passion for dogs in general. I then joined the Army and deployed to Afghanistan where we had a K9 attached to my unit, and my living quarters just happened to be across from a military K9 training kennel. Working around these dogs and just watching them train is when I knew I wanted to work with these dogs for a living.

Once I started at the jail, I worked hard and expressed my interest in joining the K9 unit, including volunteering at trainings, and bugging the handlers almost daily with questions. Once there was an opening, I went through the selection process and was fortunate enough to be selected.

Nala and I have been partners for two years now. During the two years, Nala has been credited for finding narcotics in the correctional facility on 15+ separate occasions, including finding forged "legal mail" appearing to be from an attorney's office that had narcotics inside the envelope. This find lead to a multi-agency investigation, an arrest, and the implementation of new mail policies within the facility, including the addition of a narcotics detection machine to scan inmate mail coming in, which has since prevented numerous narcotics from entering the jail through the mail.

Nala and I are also called upon to search various schools (lockers and parking lots), and assist our local drug enforcement team when needed.

When we're not working, training, or participating in community events, Nala enjoys playing with her KONG™ with Rope, playing fetch with any type of toy imaginable, and sometimes she even enjoys relaxing with the family at home.

Their Gear: At work, Nala wears the Ray Allen Cobra Buckle Collar with the handle and V-ring. The handle and V-ring are great for when there's a call for assistance in the jail that requires us to run to because I can grab the handle and quickly/easily attach my leash to the V-ring and be on our way. 

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