Meet Sage, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s aptly named new officer.

Colorado Parks recently swore in the 9-month-old black lab as the newest K-9 Team officer. (Picture below.)

Sage a Colorado Parks and Wildlife K-9 on a rock
Colorado Parks and Wildlife via X
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Three dogs make up the four-legged force. Samson, a Belgian Malinois, has been on the force for five years, and Cash (pictured below with Sage), an 8-year-old black lab, has served for eight years.

Handler-partners, in order, are Zach Picard, Ian Petkash and Brock McArdle.

The same day Sage joined the crew, Sci received last call, retiring after serving for nine years with Officer Phil Gurule. Sci is a Dutch shepherd. (Pictured below.)

Sci and handler Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Phil Gurule
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife K-9 Unit Expanding

Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
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Dogs have long been law enforcement partners, with K9 units becoming regular teams in the 1970s.

The retiring Sci was the first canine officer for the state parks system in 2015. He was part of a pilot program that will now become a fully staffed team in the next year and a half.

“Our K-9 pilot program has proven to be very beneficial in wildlife detection, detecting evidence related to criminal incidents and public engagement,” said CPW Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement Jim Hawkins. “We are excited to expand our K-9 program statewide.”

Samson (pictured below), in particular, has helped with “hard release” bear management, in which he helps instill a natural fear of humans to mitigate human-bear conflicts, the service reported.

What Colorado Parks and Wildlife K-9s do

wildlife k-9 officer Samson and handler Ian Petkash
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The statewide K-9 unit will not be trained for suspect apprehension and handler protection. Instead, these canines will detect wildlife, do article searches, seek illegally trafficked or poached species and help manage bears. They could also learn to search for lost hikers and sniff out nuisance water species.

And, the best job: They will visit schools and public events to help educate about the state Parks and Wildlife mission.

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MORE: Take a look at Larimer County's 2024 K-9 Unit

These eight K-9/Handler teams join a long list that have served the force over the decades, all of which have served the community nobly.

Gallery Credit: Dave Jensen

MORE: Past K-9 Teams From Around Northern Colorado

Meet the Northern Colorado dog squad of highly-trained good boys (and the occasional good girl). 

Gallery Credit: Shelby Taylor-Thorn