Marshall County K9s participate in K9 Olympics

Sunday, August 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM

By Kathy Bottorff

Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel was pleased with K9 Diesel and Bear’s participation earlier this month in the K9 Olympics.

Last week, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department K9 Unit competed in the 26th Annual American Working Dog K9 Olympics Seminar and Certification Trials held at Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana.

Held from August 10th to 15th, this event brought together approximately one hundred K9 teams from military special forces, private contractors, and other law enforcement agencies across the country. The competition featured over thirty events designed to replicate real-world scenarios. Our K9 teams competed in key disciplines such as narcotic detection and patrol work - which includes searching for humans, obedience, tracking, control, article searches, apprehensions, and obstacle courses. The handlers and their dogs also completed their annual certifications.

Deputy Blake Bennett with K9 Diesel and Deputy Alex Truty with K9 Bear proudly represented our department and performed well. In fact, Deputy Bennett and K9 Diesel ranked in the top ten in several patrol and detection events and even won some awards with a 3rd Place in Narcotic Vehicle Exteriors!

The Sheriff said, “We are thankful for their hard work and dedication to our department and our community.”