Colton PD K-9 Fundraiser, A Blast for Community at Fiesta Village

On Wednesday night, Oct. 22, the Colton Police Department teamed up with Fiesta Village and Nickelodeon Pizza to bring the community together and help raise money for the Police Department’s K-9 Unit. The event was held at Fiesta Village on E Washington Street in Colton. Colton Police Department has two canines. Unfortunately, one of the canines, Dax, had to be put down about a month ago due to cancer. Dax developed a tumor that was pushing against his intestines, preventing him from being able to use the bathroom. Officers found out on a Monday and were forced to put him down that same week, on Thursday. Referring to how quickly this tragedy occurred, Colton Police Association President Rich Randolph commented, “It hit all of us really hard.” This event’s goal was to raise money for the training process of their new canine, who also showed up briefly at the event. K-9 Officer Grimes was Dax’s handler. The other handler is K-9 Officer Castillo. They both attended the event however; Officer Grimes showed up a little later since he was busy training with their new member of the team, ‘Boi,’ the newest 18-month-old addition to the department. “They train every day,” Officer Castillo explained, since Boi is the new K-9 and has a lot of training to go through. “My dog and I will train about once a week,” Castillo said, since his dog has already been through training and has experience out on patrol. Dax had been with the Colton Police Department for over seven years. Since each canine has one handler, they create a very strong bond. “I’m sure it upset Grimes even more so than us,” Officer Castillo said while explaining Dax’s death and the effect it had on his handler. The handlers don’t have a choice but to become extremely attached to their canine partners. They are the ones responsible for feeding them, cleaning up after them, and they even live with them, which is how their bond becomes so strong. They must stick together in the line of duty because the dog has created this trust with its handler. It may cause an increase in the canine’s stress level by making him patrol with another officer. “He [Boi] will be ready to work the streets in about four to five weeks,” Officer Castillo shared. “These dogs are extremely intelligent,” Officer Castillo shared. These dogs must always work alongside their handlers, “It’s a partnership,” Castillo said. The bond that the handler and their K-9 make is the same bond that two partnered officers make. The Colton High School cheerleading team was also there to support and help raise money. They were walking through the park and selling raffle tickets to all the attendees throughout the night. Fifty percent of the money they raised will be going to the Colton Police Department’s K-9 unit.