Gene L. Wriggelsworth, Sheriff

Ingham County Sheriff's Canine Team

The Ingham County Sheriff's Office established its first Canine Unit in 1989. Since that time, the Canine Unit has had 13 different Canine Teams in service. The current Canine Unit, supervised by Sergeant Tim O'Neill, consists of Deputy Brad Martin with Canine Rommie, Deputy Greg Harris with Canine Lazarus, and Deputy Kay VanElls with Canine Coby.

Rommie, Lazarus, and Coby are all multi-purpose dogs trained in tracking suspects, building searches, and narcotics detection. All of the handlers and their canine partners have completed a rigorous training program. The Canine Unit trains twice a month in order to keep their skills at maximum performance.

From 1995 through 2006, the Canine Teams responded to 2,503 calls for service. In 2006 alone, the amount of cash and value of property seized was $36,758.00 from suspected drug dealers.