OCSD deputy wins K9 training seminar for area departments
Instructors, handlers and K9s who participated in the recent three-day tracking seminar in Gainesville led by Illinois-based Cedar Creek Kennels gathered in West Plains on the last day of training. From left, West Plains Police Department handler Wes Stewart and K9 Loki, Oregon County Sheriff’s Department handler Rick Matteson and K9 Amul, Cedar Creek Kennels owner Matt Greenlief, Ozark County Sheriff’s Department handler Alan Daffron and K9 Rye, Cedar Creek Kennels trainer Dave Wynne, and Mountain View Police Department handler Michael Pauley and K9 Mark. The K9 training was a prize giveaway in a Cedar Creek Kennels Facebook contest that Ozark County Deputy Sgt. Justin Brown (Rye’s former handler) entered and won.
Ozark County Sheriff’s Department hosted a K9 training program last week that brought together officers and dogs from five area law enforcement agencies.
The three-day tracking seminar was a prize offered by Monmouth, Illinois-based Cedar Creek Kennels LLC, which conducted a Facebook contest that was entered by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Justin Brown, who then served as the OCSD K9 officer. Brown entered the contest on May 18 and was notified on June 1 by Cedar Creek Kennels owner Matt Greenlief that he had won.
Since entering the contest, Brown has transitioned to other work in the sheriff’s department, and Deputy Alan Daffron has become the new handler for the department’s K9, Deputy Rye, a German shepherd that joined OCSD about a year ago, thanks to a gift from Century Bank of the Ozarks and the Harlin family.
On July 27, Greenlief and his partner, Dave Wynne, came to Gainesville to put on the three-day tracking seminar. Those participating were OCSD handler Daffron and K9 Rye, Howell County Sheriff’s Department handler Matt Foster and K9 Sagan, Oregon County Sheriff’s Department handler Rick Matteson and K9 Amul, West Plains Police Department handler Wes Stewart and K9 Loki, and Mountain View Police Department handler Michael Pauley and K9 Mark.
Cedar Creek Kennels owner Matt Greenlief is currently a law enforcement officer, Illinois Training and Standards Board canine trainer and odor-recognition assessor. Wynne, his partner, was a K9 handler in New South Wales, Australia, from 2006 until coming to the States in 2021. Wynne has been a canine trainer since 2015 and has over 400 suspect tracking apprehensions; he has been an instructor of police K9 teams throughout the US.
“The teams improved their tracking skill set and are grateful for the time they were granted through this giveaway,” Brown said.
Greenlief and Wynne brought a “wealth of knowledge” to the training, which included both classroom and hands-on sessions, Brown said. The training would normally cost each team $500, he said, making the three-day program a valuable benefit for OCSD and the four other departments that participated. Such gifts are especially appreciated, Brown said, because all of the K9s that attended the Gainesville training are funded solely by donations from the community.
To contribute to OCSD’s program, make checks payable to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department, note “K9” in the memo line and mail to 1818 County Road 806, Gainesville, MO 65655.