County Police Place Third in Dog Competition

Running a 1.5 mile obstacle course posing various challenges to dogs and handlers, the Prince William County Police K9 teams placed third in the annual United States Police Canine Association regional Iron Dog competition on Nov. 6.

Prince William County hosted the event for the USPCA Region 3 at the Criminal Justice Academy in Nokesville. Prince William County's Officer Marshall Daniel and his canine partner, Koda, and Officer William VanAntwerp and his canine partner, Hawkeye, placed third in the "Combined Team" category.

“We were thrilled to host the USPCA Iron Dog event again this year,” said First Sergeant Greg Pass, supervisor of the Police Department’s K-9 Unit. “The course proved to be challenging, yet enjoyable for the handlers and the dogs. Everyone had a great time—especially the firefighters who had the opportunity to hose down a bunch of police officers as they tried to run through the marsh.”

About 20 teams competed from around the region, which includes canine units from Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware.

The Iron Dog competition is designed to test the dogs' strength, endurance, power, speed and courage, as well as the skill of the handlers as they navigate the 1.5 mile course. Obstacles include lifting the dog into a school bus emergency exit, crawling through drainage tubes with the dog, navigating through a marsh in simulated rainfall, jumping through windows, doing a low crawl and going over logs and fallen trees. The handlers are also tested, going through a "shoot house" where they encounter shoot/no-shoot targets.