The Reno Police Department is thrilled to welcome the newest member aboard their law enforcement team.

BAK is a 2-year-old Bohemian German Shepherd who hails all the way from the Czech Republic and was transported to the United States. RPD purchased this handsome K-9 from a facility in Banning, CA that specializes in working police and military dogs. 

Before joining the Reno Police Department, BAK went through a six-week extensive and costly training program, centered around explosives and patrol work, in order to begin his new working mission with RPD.

Joshua Nickel, his handler was required to pair up with BAK and undergo a series of training courses alongside his new partner.

Officer Nickel says, "He's actually one of the few dogs in the region that does patrol work and explosives, because most of the explosive dogs just stick to explosives.  The reasoning for him doing both is that he can be readily deployable, while I'm working on shift and if something happens right now and they need me, I can go."    

The out-of-pocket cost to purchase a working dog like BAK typically runs $20,000 and that includes the six-week training course.  A larger percentage of funds that cover this cost are raised through donations made to the Reno Police Department.

German Shepherds are specifically chosen for police work, based on their extremely high level of intelligence, strength, trainability, skill tactics, loyalty and efficiency in law enforcement.