Officer Justin Vogel and his partner Duke are the newest members of the Moorhead Police Department Canine Unit. Duke is a sable-colored German shepherd from Slovakia and was 14 months old when he arrived in the United States in February 2006. It was at that time that Duke and Officer Vogel were united. They attended 15 weeks of training with the St. Paul Police Department, St. Paul, Minnesota. Officer Vogel's and Duke's duties entail citywide patrol, building searches, tracking for missing persons/suspects, suspect apprehension, and narcotics detection. As a part of the Moorhead Police Department's commitment to community oriented policing, Officer Vogel and Duke will also conduct public demonstrations.

Hickok is an all black dog from the Czech Republic and has only been in the United States since February 2004. Moorhead Police Department K-9's and their human partners go through an intensive 15-week training program held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since obedience is of utmost importance, that is the initial focus of the training. During training, Hickok also learned how to track, apprehend suspects, perform building searches and detect for narcotics. As part of the Moorhead Police Department's commitment to community oriented police, Officer Lien and Hickok will also conduct public demonstrations.

Hickok and Duke are the 7th and 8th dogs to work for the Moorhead Police Department since 1986. For more information regarding the K-9 unit, or to request a demonstration, please call Lt. Nielsen at 218-790-4098 or e-mail him at jim.nielsen@ci.moorhead.mn.us.