The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is introducing the newest member of its K9 team to the Central Coast community.
Chop is a specially trained, 2-year-old German Shepherd who has been on the team for just two months. He is trained in a number of categories, including patrol, human scent detection, open area building searches, handler protection and apprehension. Chop was brought on board through funding from the Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse’s Project Deputy Dog program.
He is the second K9 to be purchased to assist with the Sheriff’s Office thanks to a big donation from a couple in the Carpinteria area, Reece and Christina Duca. They named Chop after the nickname of one of their close family friends.
Chop is handled by Deputy Shane Moore, a six-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office.
They met up with several residents from the county to become acquainted with them and get to know the community.
