By BILL POWELL
bpowell@dcherald.com

INDIANAPOLIS — A German shepherd named Drogos and his handler, Trooper Kaitlyn Greene, officially became the next K-9 team in the Jasper District when the 2018 Indiana State Police K-9 Class graduated Friday.

Photos provided
Indianan State Police Trooper Kaitlyn Greene and Drogos pose for a photo with Certified Master K-9 Trainer Kevin Waters.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter presented Greene and Drogos with a certificate Friday at the state police K-9 class graduation ceremony held at the Indiana State Police Museum in Indianapolis.

“K-9 Drogos and I are ready and prepared to serve each citizen whether it be to keep drugs off the street and out of the schools,” Greene said.

Greene is a Spencer County native and three-year veteran of the Indiana State Police who came onto the local public’s radar screen in February when she saved a kayaker from drowning as he was being pulled into a culvert.

She had been penciled in as the district’s new K-9 handler this fall after an arduous selection process that involved a written examination, performance assessment and oral interview.

Drogos is 5 years old and hails from Poland. Greene said the K-9’s name comes from the patron saint of shepherds.

At the Indiana State Police K-9 Academy, Greene and Drogos spent several months learning from K-9 master trainers.

Greene and Drogos are certified in narcotics (heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, crack, cocaine and ecstasy), tracking, aggression, area search, article search and building search.

The Jasper Post posted that Drogos is categorized as a Patrol K-9, “which, in short, means he is at the top of the food chain when it comes to police dogs.”

Drogos has a “tremendous work ethic” and a “desire to always exceed at everything I ask him to do,” Greene said.

“K-9 Drogos has already been through the K-9 Academy and had been on the road for four years prior to me receiving him,” Greene said. “I wasn’t concerned at all about him not excelling at K-9 Academy.

“This K-9 Academy was more to teach me how to handle K-9 Drogos than really teaching him something new. Once I learned the commands and our bond developed, we actually had plenty of time to do more specific and challenging scenarios.”

The Jasper District in which they serve covers Spencer, Perry, Crawford, Orange, Dubois, Daviess and Martin counties.

State police K-9 teams are routinely sent to other areas of the state.

When the pairing of Greene and Drogos was first announced, Jasper District Commander Lt. Jason Allen said bringing a second K-9 team to the district would be vital for both state and local departments to combat the meth and heroin problems facing local communities.

Allen also cited several examples where state police K-9s have been instrumental in locating missing children and the elderly.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter presented Greene with a certificate Friday at the state police K-9 class graduation ceremony held at the Indiana State Police Museum in Indianapolis.

Greene, who graduated from the 74th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in 2014, primarily patrols Spencer County and also serves on the South Zone Dive Team as an underwater search and rescue diver. The rescue earlier this year earned her a state police Life Saving Award.

Greene was patrolling Orchard Road near Spencer County Road 400N in February when she was frantically waved down by the wife of a kayaker who was nearly submerged underwater and clinging to a metal culvert pipe.

Greene had spent the first part of the day doing pool training at Pike Central High School. She was closing out her shift patrolling flooded areas and specifically steered toward the area east of Richland City.

The husband and wife she encountered had been kayaking in an open field that was flooded, police said. When the husband’s kayak was swept through a nearby culvert, he was able to grab the top of the pipe before he was swept underwater and through the culvert, police said.

Greene, who had her underwater search and rescue gear with her, quickly grabbed and secured a throw bag rope under the victim’s armpits and around his back. She treated the victim at the scene for cold water exposure while Spencer County Emergency Medical Services personnel were en route. The victim was treated and released.