Courtesy Photo
Ion, the newest K9 member of the LCSO.

By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

Ion is a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) certified explosive detective dog and is now working for Larimer County. The two-year-old English labrador retriever underwent 10 weeks of intensive training in Virginia where both he and his handler Deputy Kevin Hobson received their ATF certification.

The new bomb-busting pup is trained to detect explosives, explosives residue and post-blast evidence on top of firearms and ammunition after they have been discharged. Ion is a single-purpose dog with that single purpose being explosive detection.

Deputy Hobson is no stranger to explosives himself, being a certified bomb technician who has served on the Northern Colorado Regional Bomb Squad for eight years. Due to his experience in the field, he was chosen for the new position as a canine handler.

“Graduating from the ATF Explosives Detection Canine program is a tremendous undertaking demanding months of intensive training for both the canine and the handler while at the academy,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers in the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) press release. “We are especially proud of Deputy Hobson and canine Ion for their continued dedication and commitment which can be directly attributed to being able to bring this important resource to serve and protect their community.”

Beginning in the early 1990s, the ATF began training dogs to weed out explosives in foreign countries combating terrorism. In the summer of 1998, the agency began training canines for federal, state and local law enforcement.

The United States had a shortage of bomb-sniffing dogs by the end of 2022, according to a report from National Public Radio. There are currently just over 5,000 dogs trained to smell out explosive items working for the federal government as reported by the Smithsonian Magazine in December 2022.

The new team in Larimer County will be responsible for public safety in multiple ways, such as event security, article searches and field operations.

The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland has provided partial funding for the canine and handler. This complex is also where the canine team will be based.

“We value the 20-year relationship between The Ranch and LCSO and the strength it brings to our daily operations,” said Conor McGrath, Director at The Ranch.