Evansville – Trooper Seth Rainey and his new K-9 “Teague” recently graduated from the very first Indiana State Police K-9 Training School and are now patrolling the roadways in the Evansville District.

This is the first K-9 class completely instructed by Indiana State Police trainers Master Trooper Kevin Waters and Senior Trooper Mick Dockery, under the direction of Master Instructor Sergeant Dennis Wade.  Prior to this school, Indiana State Police had received their training at a school in Fort Wayne.

The dual purpose dogs have over 400 hours of training scenarios held in locations throughout central Indiana, including the Putnamville and Pendleton State Penitentiaries, National Guard Armories and the Morgan County Fairgrounds.

Upon graduation from the twelve week course the dogs are certified in obedience control, narcotics, tracking, aggression control, evidence search, open air search and building search. The narcotic detection includes marijuana, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamines and ecstasy.

The four German Shepherds, which cost $ 5,500 each, were purchased in Michigan with funds donated to the ISP K-9 program. Funding has been donated from a variety of sources throughout Indiana including community foundations, prosecutor’s offices and the Tony Stewart Foundation.  The ISP K-9 program is self supporting and does not rely on taxpayer support.

Trooper Rainey is a three-year veteran and primarily patrols Posey County.  Rainey named his K-9 “Teague” after Trooper Eugene Teague, who was the first Indiana State Trooper killed in the line of duty. Teague was killed on December 21, 1933, during the capture of members of the Dillinger gang.

Indiana State Police currently have three K-9 units that patrol within the Evansville District, which covers Knox, Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties.