K9 Shep's Heroics Capture National Spotlight On A&E's 'Live PD'

LAND O’ LAKES, FL -- Shep and his fellow Pasco County Sheriff's Office K9s have earned a national reputation for their dogged determination to catch bad guys on the A&E television series, "Live PD."

And soon these plucky pups will have a new place to hone their skills.

With the help of a $470,000 donation from Odessa resident and animal lover Helen A. Rich, the sheriff's office has begun work on the Helen A. Rick Training and Research Complex located next to the Sheriff's Office Aviation Hangar off U.S. 41 in Land O' Lakes. Rich, the founder of the nonprofit Wings of Angels Rescue dedicated to saving, training and relocating dogs, is the heiress to the Wrigley chewing gum fortune.

The K9 complex is the latest edition to what's developing into a comprehensive criminal justice training and research compound adjacent to the Land O' Lakes Detention Center.

In addition to the aviation hangar and K9 training complex, the site will include the ground-breaking Florida Forensic Institute for Research, Security and Tactics (FIRST) featuring the state's first forensic body (cadaver) farm.

According to sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll, the K9 complex is expected to be completed by the fall of 2019 at a cost of more than $1 million.

It will feature a veterinary science center, a K9 indoor training facility, an obstacle course and a rubble pile for search-and-rescue training.

“We will be actively caring for the well-being and the physical and emotional aspects of what K9s and their handlers go through,” said Heather Walsh-Haney, program leader for the Department of Justice Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University and an anthropologist specializing in the forensic investigation of skeletal remains.

“It’s all too common that we haven’t properly cared for the K9s that work in these types of environments as well as their handlers. So with the Helen A. Rich K9 Complex, this is going to fill that deficiency by providing state-of-the-art veterinary services, innovative K9 training, customized nutritional programs and specialized behavioral programs for our K9s," she said. “The Helen A. Rich K9 Complex will set the standard for both the United States and abroad for advanced training techniques in airport security, explosive and drug detection and search and recovery by building upon the oxytocin-rich relationship that humans and their K9s have shared for thousands of years.”

Since becoming Pasco County's sheriff in 2011, Sheriff Chris Nocco has been committed to expanding the sheriff's K9 unit. The sheriff's office now has 20 K9 officers with various specialties. In the past year, the K9s have sniffed out drugs and explosives, taken down fleeing criminals and searched for lost children.

The heroics of these dedicated dogs have been highlighted on the live-action police show, "Live PD." In particular, 4-year-old K9 Shep and his handler, Deputy Nick Carmack, have attracted attention for Shep's relentless pursuit of fugitives captured on Carmack's body camera.

The crafty K9 even has his own clothing line featuring the now-infamous line from the body camera video: "Get off my dog, bro. Get off my dog, bro."

In that video, Carmack, with a handcuffed suspect in tow, runs into the woods to find Shep and the man he is chasing. When they arrive, the fugitive is choking Shep with his own collar and Shep returns the favor with a few well-placed bites.

Carmack can be heard joking, “I’m OK, Dad. I’m OK, Dad," followed by “That guy smells like methamphetamines and bad choices.”

Carmack said Shep hasn't let the fame go to his head. When at home, he romps and plays like any dog.

"When he's at home, he's just like any other dog," said Carmack.

Shep's T-shirts are available for sale for $20 on the Pasco Sheriff's Charities website. All proceeds go to the Pasco Sheriff's K9 Association.

Video via Pasco Sheriff

Warning: Video contains explicit language

Images via Pasco Sheriff

A&E "Live PD" hosts Dan Abrams and Tom Morris Jr. interview Pasco Deputy Nick Carmack and Shep .

Odessa philanthropist Helen A. Rich celebrates the groundbreaking of the new K9 training facility.

A&E's"Live PD" host Tom Morris Jr. interviews Deputy Nick Carmack at the network's studios.

Deputy Nick Carmack and Shep head to their interview at the A&E television studios.

The $20 T-shirts support the Pasco Sheriff's K9 Association.

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