‘Canine Commandos’ Help Train Dogs At Animal Center
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // February 1, 2015
initiative involves Gifted Program students
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The “Canine Commandos” initiative involves Gifted Program students at Indialantic Elementary and 18 other Brevard County schools that work to help dogs in the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Animal Care Center become more adoptable.
The Canine Commando students work with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office South Animal Care Center in Melbourne and other Adoption Centers throughout the county to improve dogs’ behaviors in order to help them find forever homes.
Once they arrive at the facility, the Commandos teach basic obedience commands to the animals so that they are ready to meet their new family when the time comes.
The Commandos also work inside the Care Centers by helping with the various chores that are necessary to assure a great environment for the dogs.
The goal of the program is to get the dogs adopted into good homes and spread the word to other schools so they can join in the fun as well.
The long term impact of the program is that each child learns how to properly care for the pets and will pass that knowledge on for generations to come.
On Tuesday January 20 Meadowlane Elementary was the first Canine Commando visit since the Sheriff’s Department took over in October 2014.
On Wednesday our team also had the pleasure of working with Canine Commando students from Columbia Elementary who did a great job at helping to get some of our amazing dogs ready for adoption.
We are very excited about this partnership and are look forward to many more visits and training sessions for our animals.
I would like to say a personal thank you to Virginia Hamilton who coordinates the Canine Commando Program for all she does for the students and the dogs in our Care Center.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
