K-9 Officer Mike Parcells has acquired a new police service dog after his former dog, Credo, was fatally injured following a June 28, 2016 SWAT call-out involving a barricaded suspect. This week, Officer Parcells began field patrol with his new K-9 partner, Storm.
Storm, a 1½ year-old male Belgian Malinois, was imported from Holland, where he received pre-training, before being received and trained by the Vohne Liche Kennels, a training facility in Indiana. In August 2016, Officer Parcells travelled to Indiana, where he interacted with 25 dogs, before zeroing in on Storm.
Once Storm was selected, he traveled back to Long Beach with Officer Parcells to begin several weeks of patrol training, which included search techniques, verbal commands, obedience, agility and evidence searches. In all, Storm has undergone 200-plus hours of training and was certified for field duty on Nov. 11, 2016.
Given [the dog’s] young age, Officer Parcells has described Storm as puppy-like and compared him to having a 2-year-old toddler but is confident in what he has seen in his abilities. He acknowledged that losing Credo was extremely difficult and no other dog could take his place but is excited to have Storm as his new partner and knows this is the beginning of a new journey. Storm is Officer Parcells’s sixth police service dog.
Storm was funded by the Long Beach K-9 Officers Association (LBK9OA), a nonprofit organization established by members of the community with the goal of promoting and supporting the LBPD’s K-9 Unit. The LBK9OA has also covered the cost of professionally fitted and upgraded tactical vests for LBPD police service dogs.
To learn more about the LBK9OA or to make a contribution, visit their website at lbk9oa.org.
Long Beach Police Department
