K9 Shadow

Lewiston Police department started a canine program in 2007 with an imported police canine from the Czech Republic. Canine “Radar” was the first police canine in the Lewiston Police history. Canine Taser replaced Radar in 2014 after a brief illness. Taser was taken out of service in 2018 and Shadow then joined the department. Taser was a European Shepherd with his parent’s bloodlines coming from Germany and Slovakia.  All 3 canines are from European descent, Shadow being from the Czech Republic.  Generally, German Shepherd’s like Shadow are used in police departments because of their above average intelligence and they are easily trainable. Shadow is also considered a dual purpose canine. He is trained to track wanted or missing people, to apprehend criminals and detection of narcotics inside vehicles and buildings. Officer Scott Stafford and Shadow had to go through very intense training that lasted twenty weeks for the initial certification. Officer Stafford and Shadow continue to train per New York State standards on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis to maintain their proficiency. Officer Stafford and Shadow are recognized by New York State as a certified Canine Team. Also they have maintained National certifications on a yearly basis with The North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA), The National Narcotic Detector Dog Association (NNDDA) and have attended yearly canine seminars within New York State to enhance their abilities within this specialized unit. Their abilities are perishable and without training will diminish.

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Officer Stafford and Shadow are available to provide demonstrations to community organizations, please contact our department for more information.