{"id":395366,"date":"2026-07-12T04:50:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T04:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/395366\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T04:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T04:50:24","slug":"new-chp-canine-teams-include-a-springer-spaniel-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/395366\/","title":{"rendered":"New CHP canine teams include a springer spaniel first"},"content":{"rendered":"

The California Highway Patrol graduated six canines and their handlers from the K-9 training academy in West Sacramento on Friday.<\/p>\n

For the first time in the CHP\u2019s history the graduating class features a springer spaniel. The other graduated canines include two Belgian Malinois, two Dutch shepherds, one German shepherd.<\/p>\n

The 11-month-old springer spaniel, Lincoln, is an explosives detection canine and is his handler Officer Nick Layton\u2019s first K-9 partner with CHP. The class also consists of three patrol and narcotics detection canine teams, one patrol and explosives detection canine team and a narcotics detection canine team.<\/p>\n

\"Officer Officer Nick Layton shows off his trained California Highway Patrol canine, Lincoln, at the CHP Academy K-9 graduation in West Sacramento on Friday. Lincoln is the first springer spaniel in the department\u2019s history. LIBBY SIMPSON libby.simpson@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Each dog and its handler completed between 240 to 600 hours of training depending on its specialty.<\/p>\n

After graduation, each canine team will be assigned to six of the CHP\u2019s geographic regions throughout the state.<\/p>\n

\"Dutch Dutch shepherd Vader and his handler Officer Casey McCarthy graduate from the California Highway Patrol K-9 training center in West Sacramento on Friday, July 10, 2026. The pair will serve in the Valley Division, which includes Sacramento. LIBBY SIMPSON libby.simpson@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Three of the newly graduated teams will be located in the Northern California area.<\/p>\n

Officer Scott Baker and German shepherd Lucy will be located in the Northern Division; Officer Casey McCarthy and Dutch shepherd Vader with serve in the Valley Division; and Officer Nick Layton and springer spaniel Lincoln will be located in the Capitol Protection Section.<\/p>\n

\"Officer Officer Casey McCarthy receives a graduation plaque for his trained canine, Vader, during the CHP Academy K-9 graduation in West Sacramento on Friday. LIBBY SIMPSON libby.simpson@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

According to a CHP news release, in 2025 its \u201cnarcotics-detection canine teams conducted nearly 1,700 enforcement searches, resulting in the seizure of more than 21,170 pounds of illegal narcotics including marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin and more than 12.2 million dollars in illicit currency.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the same time, CHP patrol explosive-detection canine teams conducted over 7,000 explosives-detection searches resulting in the seizure of ammunition, guns and improvised explosive devices, the release stated.<\/p>\n

After the July 10 graduation, the CHP has a total of 54 canine teams throughout the state, including 39 patrol and narcotics detection canine teams.<\/p>\n

\"A A dog graduation decoration stands among snacks during the California Highway Patrol K-9 graduation ceremony at the CHP Academy in West Sacramento on Friday, July 10, 2026. LIBBY SIMPSON libby.simpson@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 7:00 AM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Libby Simpson<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Libby Simpson is a 2026 summer visual journalism intern for The Sacramento Bee.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The California Highway Patrol graduated six canines and their handlers from the K-9 training academy in West Sacramento…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-395366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}