K9

UNIT

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24

PENTAGON FORCE PROTECTION AGENCY

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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New Year’s Day

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78910 11 12 13

14 15

Martin Luther 

King, Jr. Birthday

16 17 18 19 20

21

K-9 Brooke’s Birthday

(Featured in November)

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28 29 30 31

DECEMBER

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FEBRUARY

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JANUARY 2024

CHIEF

Chief is a one year old Labrador Retriever. He began service March 

2023, is trained in explosives detection and his sister, “Isa” also 

works in the K-9 Unit. Chief loves ice cubes and his Chuckit!® 

Floating Stick.

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11

K-9 Larry’s Birthday

(Featured in May)

12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19

Washington’s 

Birthday

20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29

Leap Day

JANUARY

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28 29 30 31

MARCH

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FEBRUARY 2024

HONZA

Honza is an eight year old Belgian Malinois with seven years in 

service and is trained for explosives detection. Honza lives on a 

sheep farm and loves the working sheep dog on the farm. His 

favorite treat is a StarbucksTM “Pup Cup” and his favorite toy is 

“Gordon”, his stuffed Sloth.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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3

K-9 River’s Birthday

(Featured in September)

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24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 FEBRUARY

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APRIL

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28 29 30

MARCH 2024

HERSHEY

Hershey is a four year old Labrador Retriever with two and a half 

years in service and is trained in explosives detection. Hershey 

has a unique bark that doesn’t always sound like a dog. He will eat 

anything edible and loves anything he can play with people.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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7 8 9 10 11 12 13

K-9 Chief and K-9 Isa’s 

Birthday (Featured in 

January and June)

14 15

Tax Day

16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

MARCH

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MAY

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APRIL 2024

KIT KAT

Kit Kat is a six year old Labrador Retriever with four years in service 

and is trained in explosives and person borne explosives detection. 

Kit Kat loves doing “zoomies” every day after her shift with her 

handler. Her favorite treat is any and all treats and her dog bumper 

is the preferred toy.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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K-9 Boss’s Birthday

(Featured in July)

2 3

Pentagon Force 

Protection Agency 

Established 2002

4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20

K-9 Boki’s Birthday

(Featured in October)

21 22 23 24 25

26 27

Memorial Day

28 29 30 31

APRIL

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14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

JUNE

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9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

MAY 2024

NATIONAL POLICE A O L WEEK

LARRY

Larry is a seven year old German Short Haired Pointer with fi ve years 

in service and is trained in explosives detection. Larry has a unique 

high stepping prance when he walks. He loves Krispy Kreme glazed 

donuts and tennis balls.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1

23456

K-9 Hershey’s Birthday

(Featured in March)

7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

K-9 Honza’s Birthday

(Featured in February)

16 17 18 19

Juneteenth National 

Independence Day

20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30 MAY

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26 27 28 29 30 31

JULY

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14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

JUNE 2024

ISA

Isa is a one year old Labrador Retriever. She began service March 

2023, is trained in explosives and person borne explosives detection 

and loves to give hugs. Isa loves bacon fl avored dog treats and 

anything her retired brother, Patterson, has in his mouth.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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Independence Day

5 6

K-9 Rocky’s Birthday

(Featured on the cover)

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K-9 Bougie’s Birthday

(Featured in December)

11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

JUNE

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30

AUGUST

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JULY 2024

BOSS

Boss is an eight year old Labrador Retriever with seven years in 

service and is trained in explosives and person borne explosives 

detection. Boss is afraid of bugs but loves water and his 

beloved Kong®.

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JULY

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28 29 30 31

SEPTEMBER

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AUGUST 2024

MOKEI

Mokei is a fi ve year old English Labrador Retriever with four years 

in service and is trained in explosives and person borne explosives 

detection. She is known by many as the “sweetest dog in the world”. 

Mokei loves to eat everything and anything and her favorite toy is 

EVERY stuffed animal toy.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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Labor Day

3 4

K-9 Kit Kat’s Birthday

(Featured in April)

5

K-9 Mokei’s Birthday

(Featured in August)

6 7

8 9 10 11

Patriot Day

12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

AUGUST

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OCTOBER

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27 28 29 30 31

SEPTEMBER 2024

RIVER

River is an eight year old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd with 

seven years in service and is trained in explosives detection. River 

loves going on boat rides, eating Cheez Whiz and snuggling with 

her stuffed baby Yoda.

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Columbus Day

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27 28 29 30 31

SEPTEMBER

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15 16 17 18 19 20 21

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29 30

NOVEMBER

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OCTOBER 2024

BOKI

Boki is a seven year old German Short Haired Pointer with six years 

in service and is trained in explosives and person borne explosives 

detection. Boki enjoys eating rocks, ALL rocks. He also loves ice 

cubes and his Kong® toy.

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Veterans Day

12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28

Thanksgiving Day

29 30

OCTOBER

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27 28 29 30 31

DECEMBER

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NOVEMBER 2024

BROOKE

Brooke is a nine year old German Shepherd with eight years in 

service and is trained in explosives detection. In her free time 

Brooke loves snuggling with her older human sisters and eating 

ice cubes. Her favorite toy is an orange rubber Chuckit!® ball.

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Christmas Day

26 27 28

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NOVEMBER

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JANUARY

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DECEMBER 2024

BOUGIE

Bougie, pronounced “Booshie”, is a two year old Labrador Retriever 

with one year in service and is trained in explosives and person 

borne explosives detection. Bougie is affectionately named 

“Thunder foot” because of the loud stomping noise he makes 

during every search. He is a big fan of hot dogs and his favorite 

toy, a large foam ring.

PENTAGON FORCE PROTECTION AGENCY

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AKITA

7 Year Old, German Short Haired Pointer 

BENTLEY

3 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

BOKI

7 Year Old, German Short Haired Pointer

BOSS

8 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

BOSS II

3 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

BOUGIE

2 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

BRIGI

5 Year Old, Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd

BROOKE

9 Year Old, German Shepherd

CHESTER

4 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

CHIEF

1 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

GUNNER

9 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

HELI

5 Year Old, Belgian Malinois

K-9 Unit Team Page

PENTAGON FORCE PROTECTION AGENCY
HERSHEY

4 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

HONZA

8 Year Old, Belgian Malinois

ISA

1 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

KIT KAT

6 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

LARRY

7 Year Old, German Short Haired Pointer

MOKEI

5 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

REX

3 Year Old, Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd

RIVER

8 Year Old, Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd

ROCKY

6 Year Old, German Shepherd

SCUBA

2 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

SKY

3 Year Old, Labrador Retriever

PROTECTING THOSE WHO PROTECT OUR NATION
T he Pentagon Police Canine (K-9) Unit was 

established in July 1998 to take a more 

proactive approach to the growing threat of 

terrorism. The K-9 teams assigned to the Pentagon 

provide protection support for the Secretary of 

Defense, visiting dignitaries, and all Department 

of Defense personnel at the Pentagon and in the 

National Capital Region. In addition to numerous 

proactive assignments for explosive detection, 

the K-9 Unit also provides support to other law 

enforcement agencies throughout the National 

Capital Region.

The growth of the K-9 Unit from only four teams 

to its current size has been surpassed by the 

functional growth. The program has evolved from 

the original military working dog detection model 

into a blend of multiple training and detection 

methodologies that took the best practices from 

existing programs and tailored them to meet the 

Pentagon Force Protection Agency’s (PFPA) 

unique requirements. 

The K-9 Unit is comprised of specially trained 

dogs used to detect explosives and personborne improvised explosives devices. The Unit 

is organized into teams (canine and handler) 

that provide both proactive and reactive law 

enforcement functions designed to ensure a safe 

working environment at the Pentagon reservation 

and other DoD delegated facilities. Members of 

the K-9 Unit conduct security sweeps of delivery, 

construction, unattended vehicles, suspicious 

 cial ceremonies fi packages or bomb threats, and of

and functions. PFPA has the only Person-Borne 

Improvised Explosive Device Detection (PBIED) 

program in the DoD that has won numerous K-9 

Olympic events in detection.

After the canines are selected and tested, they 

are paired up with their respective handlers 

immediately to begin building a strong bond. 

K-9 teams then go through an extensive sixmonth training course covering explosive 

imprinting, search principles, and obedience. 

Upon completion of the course, they complete a 

 cation that consists of two phases. Phase one fi certi

 rms that the fi is the odor recognition test, which con

canine can identify several explosive compounds 

and the handler can identify the change of 

behavior, all while working as a team. Phase two is 

operational, which consist of real-world searches 

of four areas: vehicles, buildings, luggage, and 

open area. 

PFPA canine and handler teams require more than 

200 hours a year of training together to maintain 

operational status. The canines receive their annual 

 cation from the International Police Working fi certi

Dog Association. The K-9 Unit has participated 

in and placed in multiple skills competitions to 

include Iron Dog Competitions, United States 

Police Canine Association (USPCA) Detection 

Trials, and North American Police Working Dog 

Association (NAPWDA) Detection Trials.

Law enforcement agencies use man’s best friend to assist in a variety of tasks. They not 

only make their jobs easier. They make them safer. Many of those tasks require a honed 

set of skills taught by professional dog trainers and take months to master.

COVER PHOTO:

ROCKY 

Rocky is a six year old German Shepherd with four years 

in service and is trained in explosives detection. Rocky 

enjoys locating and herding his friend, the family cat, 

back into the house when it escapes. His favorite treat 

is chicken and whipped cream and his favorite toy is a 

limited-edition Kong® Ball.

PENTAGON FORCE PROTECTION AGENCY

www.pfpa.mil

2024 is a leap year. Leap years have an extra day 

added to the end of the shortest month, February. 

This so-called intercalary day, February 29, is 

commonly referred to as leap day.

Leap years have 366 days instead of the usual 365 

days and occur almost every four years.

PFPA K-9 UNIT FACTS

In July 1998, the K-9 Unit started with four handlers and in 2023, 

the Unit grew to 24 K-9 handlers. 

There have been 64 total K-9 teams who have served since 

the Unit was established. 

The Unit still has one of the original plank holders, Sgt. Sarah 

Austin, from the inception of the Unit in 1998. 

 cers have served on the Unit since 1998. fi Four female of

 cer Eric Harris has had the most K-9 dogs in the Unit with fi Of

 ed dogs. fi ve certi fi

The Unit has had two K-9’s who were combat veterans prior to 

their service with PFPA; K-9 Emmie and K-9 Jake.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s dog named Bravo, received an 

honorary PFPA K-9 badge during the Agency’s 10-year Anniversary 

Commemoration ceremony in 2012. To date, Bravo is the only 

non-law enforcement dog that has a PFPA badge. 

PFPA has had multiple breeds of dogs that included a Border 

Collie, a Springer Spaniel, a Weimaraner, Labradors, German 

Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and German Short Haired Pointers.

The Unit has several dogs that were imported internationally with 

 cial passports. Some of the dogs were imported fi their own of

from the following countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, 

Hungary, Holland, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Slovakia 

and Poland.

The dogs are between one and two years old when the Unit 

receives them and they typically serve until approximately 10 

years of age.

Each dog lives with their assigned handler and are a part of every 

 cer’s home life. This relationship is necessary to fi aspect of the of

 cient fi provide the most effective rapport and provides for an ef

response time to incidents when K-9 support is needed.

Once a dog retires, most handlers keep their dog as a member 

of their family.

The K-9 Unit opened its new facility on the Pentagon Reservation 

in July 2023.