NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A national nonprofit made a stop in Nashville this week to help train police and search and rescue dogs.
Spike's K9 Fund held a three-day Tracker School, offered for free to participants. Members of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, including Officer Ryan Coll and his partner K9 Diesel took part.
"Our main purpose is to go out and apprehend these suspects who've escaped, or gone into the woods," said Officer Coll.
Coll and Diesel have been paired for about three years, working together for the past two.
"I spend more time with this dog than I do my wife and kids," Coll said.
The duo was one of about 15 participating in the training class on Thursday.
"This course specifically is used to help the dogs become more efficient with tracking," said Emily Grey, Spike's K9 Fund CEO.
It’s not just apprehending suspects, the skills learned at the tracking school also help search and rescue crews locate missing people.
"They can pick up on a scent from your shoes, from your clothing, and follow it to a place that we would have never been able to track. These dogs can smell 30 to 50 feet underwater," Grey said.
Click here for more information about Spike's K9 Fund.
The organization has helped train nearly 3,000 police and search and rescue dogs across the country.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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