Students showcase their skills

North Montco Technical Career Center Construction Carpentry students utilized their carpentry skills by building “K-9 training boxes” for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. The “training boxes” are used as part of the agility training course for the dogs. Lowes of Hatfield supplied the materials for this project at a reduced price. The fourfoot square wooden boxes with concealed doors are required for the evidence and suspect search tests in the United States Police Canine Association’s Police Dog 1 Region 6 Certification Competition, co-hosted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery Township Police Department in September.

During the competition, an officer

acting as a suspect will enter each of the boxes in the testing area to contaminate them with his scent. The boxes will air for 30 seconds before the same officer permanently hides in one of the boxes. After entering the

testing area, the K9 will have four minutes to locate and indicate in which box the suspect is hidden without their handler’s direction.

North Montco Tech students with K9 officers and their dogs.

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY SUZETTE MCHUGH Left to right: Ryan Bohannon, Michael Hollinger, John Johnson, Dalton Berry, Brandon Croll, Joshua Butler, Kyle Bohannon and Joseph Mazza.

Left to right: Phillip Haines, Adam Long, Nicola D Ambruoso, Jared Stiefel and Kyle Bessette.