Putnamville trooper and K-9 graduate from academy

PUTNAMVILLE - A Putnamville state trooper and his K-9 partner joined three other police pairs Friday in graduating from the 2014 Indiana State Police K-9 Class during a ceremony at the Indiana War Memorial Museum in downtown Indianapolis.

Trooper Mike Finney of the Putnamville Post, and his K-9 "Boomer" were among the graduates.

Finney, an eight-year veteran of the ISP, is a past K-9 handler for the department.

"Boomer," a 14-month-old German Shepherd imported from the country of Poland, will accompany Trooper Finney on routine patrol within the Putnamville District.

During the 14-week academy session, "Boomer" put in 600 hours of training in narcotic searches, aggression control work, building searches, tracking, article searches and obedience.

"Boomer," certified as a Police Service Dog through the International Police Work Dog Association (IPWADA), is certified in the detection of narcotic odors related to methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy and heroin.

The K-9 academy was under the direction of ISP Master Trainer Sgt. Dennis Wade with trainers Master Trooper Kevin Waters, Senior Trooper Mick Dockery and Senior Trooper Chris Richey.

"We are proud of Mike and 'Boomer' and look forward to their potential for fighting narcotic trafficking and apprehending criminal suspects in the Wabash Valley,"

Lt. Dan Jones, commander of the Putnamville Post, commented.

Supporting the ISP K-9 program from a local level were Bemis, Wal-Mart East Terre Haute, Parke County Community Foundation, Princeton Mining Farm, Wabash Capital, Big Picture Data Imaging, Springhill Wholesale, Champion Awards and Gifts and the Indiana State Police Alliance.

Friday's ceremony graduated three ISP troopers and their K-9 partners, along with one Hancock County Sheriff's Deputy and his K-9 partner.