Southington Police Dog Does Well At Major Competition In Farmington

SOUTHINGTON/FARMINGTON, CT — Last weekend's "Dream Ride" event in Farmington and surrounding towns may have been a dream fund-raiser for CT Special Olympics, but it also proved to be a dream for one of Southington's canine cops.

That's because Southington Police Department K-9 "Tank," along with handler Officer Neal Ayotte, had a very good showing in one of the event's highlights — a K-9 competition pitting police dog units from throughout the area in a series of challenges.

And, according to the SPD, the German shepherd and his partner placed second overall out of 20 competitors in the event, which was Saturday, Aug. 26.

"The competition is a full day with multiple events throughout the day that are mostly time based," SPD spokesman Lt. Keith Egan.

Egan said the events in the police dog competition, which took place at the Farmington Polo Club in Farmington, covered the full array of what K-9's do in the field.

For example, contests centered on evidence recovery, searching buildings, an obstacle course, obedience training, environmental suspect apprehension and narcotics detection, Egan said.

Egan said another event measured the force a police dog can inflict when taking down a suspect, called the "hardest hit" contest, which utilizes a decoy.

The Dream Ride event was hosted by the Hometown Foundation and was a fund-raiser for Connecticut Special Olympics and other causes.

The main events last Saturday and Sunday were a classic car tour (vehicles that also were part of a car show at the site) and a massive motorcycle tour, with both events covering roadways in surrounding towns lik Farmington, Canton and Simsbury.

Egan said among the 20 police dog teams competing were units from the New York Police Department and Hampden County, Mass.

When scores and times were calculated, Egan said, Southington's "Tank" was second-best — not too bad.

The winning dog was the Farmington Police Department's "Ozzy" and his handler FPD Officer Kyle Mortensen.

Placing third was "Soleil" and Officer Neal Cavanaugh of the Glastonbury Police Departmen

For more information on The Hometown Foundation's Dream Ride event, click on this link.

For more information on the Southington Police Department's K-9 program, click on this link.

From Aug. 30: 'Farmington Police K-9 Is Top Dog At Major Competition'