PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On Saturday, the Washington County K-9 Trials will return to the Hillsboro Stadium.
Police dogs and their handlers from around Oregon have the chance to compete in a series of events to earn bragging rights and a trophy.
One of the events involves dogs chasing down suspects — something canine handlers say is fun for the dogs, but not so much for the volunteers.
“It will have several events, including fastest dog, obstacle course, redirect — call it a car extraction where there’s actually a guy in a bite suit inside the car and the dogs actually have to jump over the car and go inside the convertible and get him,” Sgt. Danny DiPietro with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.
The obstacle course gives people a better perspective of what dogs and their handlers actually do during a pursuit.
“A 6-foot wall — that’s a fence or a cinder block wall, we’re going to have to go over when we’re looking for a bad guy,” Sgt. DiPietro said. “A tunnel — it’s not uncommon for us to crawl through, underneath houses or something where we’re going to have to get down on our hands and knees with the dog — jumping over or through a window, super common.”
The K-9 Trials Safety Fair starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. The dog events start at 11 a.m.
