K9 Lasko

Biography

K9 Lasko Vom Gipser was born in Kirtorf Lehrbach, Germany, which is located just northeast of Homberg, Germany on April 3, 2014. K9 Lasko is purebred German shepherd and is Black and Tan. K9 Lasko has five brothers and three sisters. K9 Lasko was the only dog out of his litter that currently serves in Law Enforcement.

On July 18, 2015 K9 Lasko received his BH (Begleithunde) title in Germany.

Shortly after this K9 Lasko was purchased by Larry Filo who owns and operates Steinig Tal Kennel in Campbellsport, Wisconsin. Larry Filo has been training police dogs in Wisconsin since October 1978.

K9 Lasko flew from Frankfurt, Germany to Chicago, Illinois in September 2015. K9 Lasko however, was not alone on the flight. K9 Blackjack, currently serving Marquette County Sheriff's Department, made the same journey.

Over the next several months, staff at Steinig Tal Kennel worked with K9 Lasko to see if he could be a dual-purpose patrol K9. During this time, they worked on apprehensions, building searches, tracking, handler protection, and narcotic detection. K9 Lasko was specifically trained in detecting the odor of marijuana, heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine/cocaine base.

In November of 2015, the Sun Prairie Police Department began to search for a police K9 and contacted Steinig Tal Kennels. Shortly after, they were first introduced to K9 Lasko.

Over the next couple of months, we watched K9 Lasko performing patrol duties and at the end of December 2015 made a decision that K9 Lasko was going to be a member of the Sun Prairie Police Department.

From January through April 2016, K9 Officer Ben Pluim began to work with K9 Lasko once a week to build a good working relationship. K9 Officer Ben Pluim and K9 Lasko formed a strong bond during this time.

In May 2016, K9 Officer Ben Pluim and K9 Lasko started the Steinig Tal Police K9 Academy, which lasted four weeks. During this time, K9 Lasko certified in patrol duties including handler protection, obedience, K9 Control, building searches, area searches, article searches, tracking, and criminal apprehensions. K9 Lasko also certified in narcotic detection, which includes the odors of cocaine/cocaine base, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin.

K9 Lasko annually recertifies as a patrol K9 through Waukesha County Technical College at Steinig Tal Kennels in the spring of each year. K9 Lasko has successfully passed these certifications in May 2016, May 2017, May 2018, and May 2019.

K9 Lasko has also certified as a dual-purpose patrol K9 through the North American Working Dog Association (NAPWDA). K9 Lasko received these certifications in May 2018, and May 2019 and certified in obedience, articles searches, area searches, building searches, tracking, narcotic detection, and aggression control.

K9 Officer Ben Pluim and K9 Lasko spend approximately 24 hours a month conducting maintenance training. K9 Officer Ben Pluim and K9 Lasko are members of the Madison Area K9 training group (MAK9) which consists of municipal K9 teams in Dane County. MAK9 training group includes Verona PD, Stoughton PD, Monona PD, Town of Madison PD, Waunakee PD, University of Wisconsin PD, Maple Bluff PD, Fitchburg PD, and Middleton PD.

During our monthly maintenance training, we expose each K9 team to scenario-based training that would be applicable to patrol related calls. Training venues and environmental factors are constantly changing so the K9 team can be prepared for any type of situation.

Maintenance training is also conducted at Steinig Tal Kennel in Campbellsport, Wisconsin.

K9 Officer Ben Pluim and K9 Lasko are members of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Canine Handler Association (WLECHA). WLECHA hosts an annual rotating fall training event where approximately 160 canine teams from across Wisconsin train for four days. K9 Lasko participated in the WLECHA 2016 in Wausau, WLECHA 2017 in Oshkosh, and WLECHA 2018 in Racine. WLECHA conferences are also scenario based training and K9 Lasko has had the opportunity to train in planes, train cars, assault vehicles, buses, underground tunnels, haunted houses, etc.

K9 Lasko has not only been a valuable asset as a dual-purpose patrol K9 but he has also been very involved in our community. K9 Lasko has attended approximately 100 community events since May 2016 so please look for us so you can also meet K9 Lasko.