Frederick County Sheriff's Office welcomes 3 new K-9 officers to their team

FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. - The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office says they have three new K-9 team members ready to serve the county.

The dogs are specifically trained for law enforcement work and FCSO says they are now helping patrol the streets with their handlers. 

The new K-9s and their deputy handlers are:

• Deputy 1st Class (DFC) Jeremy Slodki and his partner K-9 Fetty, 1.5-year-old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd cross
• DFC Douglas Story and his partner K-9 Jax, 1.5-year-old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd cross
• DFC Miller Yackovich and his partner K-9 Triglav, 1.5-year-old Belgian Malinois

Jax and Triglav recently completed a 16-week patrol school in Montgomery County where they received training in obedience, article searches, tracking, agility, and apprehension work. All three dogs then completed an 8-week narcotics detection school where they received certifications to detect cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.

K-9 Edy who is already assigned as a narcotics detection dog, also did a training at the patrol school in Montgomery County to get certified for article search, tracking and apprehension.

"Edy, Jax, and Triglav are dual-purpose K-9s assigned to the agency and Fetty is a single-purpose K-9 certified in narcotics detection," said Kocevar. "Along with K-9 Odin, assigned to DFC Tara Shriver, all five K-9s are vital assets to the agency."

Since the beginning of 2022, FCSO K-9s have assisted on 208 calls for service for other police agencies and so far in 2023, they have assisted on 72 calls for service for other agencies.

"History demonstrates that K-9s are very effective in drug scans on traffic stops, allowing deputies to locate and seize illegal drugs from vehicles, which on many occasions has also led to the location and seizure of illegally possessed firearms. Our five K-9 teams are an important tool in combating the trafficking of illegal narcotics in and through Frederick County," said FCSO Sheriff Chuck Jenkins.

The three new K-9s replaced dogs Eikel, Azor and Taz, who are now retired and live at home with their handlers as household members.