Onondaga County, New York – The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office announced the 2022 spring canine graduation ceremony held May 26th 2022. Kaleigh Churchill, a deputy assigned to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit, and her new canine partner, Higgins, a 21-month-old male German Shepherd from Holland, graduated from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Spring Canine Academy.
In addition to Deputy Churchill graduating, three other canine handlers from police agencies across New York also graduated at the ceremony, which took place at the Sheriff’s Office Police Support Building located at 3301 Cessna Drive in the Town of Camillus.
Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Spring Canine Graduation Ceremony
The Academy, which was instructed by Onondaga County Sheriff’s Sergeant Craig Belcher, began on March 21st, 2022 and consisted of 400 hours of various training methods to include patrol tracking, building searches, obedience, agility and officer protection training. Eventually, the canine handlers along with their partners will attend an additional six-week school in the fall that will certify them in either explosive or narcotics detection.
