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Tips for Picking a Pet Who’s Right for Your Lifestyle Best Friends Animal Society News release

icking a pet is a big decision — one that will bring you lots of joy but also responsibilities. When choosing the right pet for your lifestyle, it’s best to learn about the needs of different types of animals to find one who will best suit your situation. Each type of pet is different in terms of care, feeding, behavior, cost, housing, and demands on your time. If you know what you’re getting into, you’ll be more likely to have a happy animal, a good relationship with your pet, and an easier time dealing with any challenges that might arise after you bring your new pet home.

Here are some factors to consider

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What type of animal is the best fit for your home? Will you be able to live with pet hair, a litter box, or the occasional wear and tear caused by pets? If you have children, how will having a pet affect them? Will everyone in your home welcome an animal?

If you rent, do you have permission from the property owner? How much space do you have inside and outside your home? Will you need a fenced yard? If you get a cat, will you want an outdoor enclosure (a catio/cattery), so your kitty can spend time safely outdoors? How much time do you have to spend with a pet? What is your activity level? Are you sedentary or physically active? Do you have the financial resources if your pet has a medical crisis and has high veterinary bills? Do you have someone who can be a secondary caregiver if you are away from home? If not, how will you provide care for your pet when you travel? One key question is where to get your new pet. Please consider adopting: There are many wonderful dogs, cats, rabbits, and other animals at most local animal shelters. There are also rescue groups for many specific dogs breeds and other types of pets. What’s more, the staff at your local animal shelter can help you find just the right pet for you. They know the animals in their care and can help you make a good match for your personality and lifestyle.

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ANIMAL EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT DON’T FORGET ABOUT PETS AND LIVESTOCK

HAPPY HEALTHY PETS COMMUNITY PHOTOS

Our pets and livestock rely on us for their safety, especially during emergencies. By taking time to plan ahead, you can keep them safe and comfortable during a stressful situation.

Name: Wilma Owner: Grant Nelson City: Placerville Favorite activity: My person and I love hiking in the mountains.

PETS Your Pet’s Bag Should Include: • Three-day supply of pet food and drinking water • Secure collar with an up-to-date ID tag that includes the owner’s name and phone number • Leash, carrier, or secured cage for safe transport • Litter box, litter, poop bags, and basic bedding supplies • Current photos of your pet (printed or saved on your phone) • Medications and basic medical supplies Pet Evacuation Reminders: • Plan ahead so you know where your pets will go and arrange a safe place for them to stay. • Ask a neighbor to check on or transport your pets if you’re not home. • Keep in mind that pets may not be allowed in emergency shelters.

We asked readers to send in their best pet photos and here they are, each and every one unique and adored by their humans. See more adorable pet photos throughout these pages.

Name: Willy Breed: 8 year-old feral rescue Owners: John & Sue Cook City: Cameron Park Favorite activity: Asking for dinner.

Name: Lucky Owner: Robin Durrett City: Placerville Favorite activity: Playing tennis.

LIVESTOCK Your Livestock Bag Should Include: • Three-day supply of hay, feed, and water • Current list of all animals, including location and records of feeding, vaccinations, and photos • Basic first aid kit • Supplies for temporary identification, such as plastic neckbands • Handling equipment, buckets, tools, and sanitation supplies Livestock Evacuation Reminders: • Contact your local fairgrounds, equestrian centers, friends, etc. about their policies and ability to take livestock temporarily in an emergency. • Learn evacuation routes well in advance and arrange safe transportation suitable for your livestock. • Bring all necessary supplies or confirm they are available at the evacuation site. • Evacuate livestock as soon as an evacuation warning or order is issued. Courtesy of the El Dorado County Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience

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Name: Spiderman Owner: Erin Champion City: El Dorado Hills Favorite activity: Laying perfectly flat on his back every night while getting belly rubs from owner.

Name: LoveBug Owner: Erin Champion City: El Dorado Hills Favorite activity: Sits outside backdoor awaiting his owner, then prances in circles welcoming him, much like a dog might do.

Name: Mochi Owner: Filice family City: El Dorado Hills Favorite activity: Cuddling.

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IN MEMORIAM

OF OUR BELOVED FURRY FRIENDS

Name: Finn Owners: Noel Stack & Brandon Ellena City: Placerville Best dog we could ask for! Miss you so much, fuzzy bum.

Name: Sammy Owners: Dale & Connie Rosen City: Pollock Pines Favorite activity: The great lap sitter.

Name: MARE Owners: Noel Stack & Brandon Ellena City: Placerville Awesome cat that will never be forgotten!

Name: Sassy Owners: Dale & Connie Rosen City: Pollock Pines Favorite activity: Sitting up in high places.

Later, if you have a glass or plastic door or partition, you could feed them within eyesight but without them being able to smell or hear each other well.

5. Watch their behavior You probably recognize signs of displeasure in your cat, like hissing, growling or their fur fluffing up. More subtle signs of stress can be ears flattening, tail twitching or the death stare: unbroken eye contact between cats who appear frozen in place. Positive body language may also be visible: tail straight up, ears facing forward. One cat may lean forward to sniff the other cat, even showing playfulness by rolling on their back to reveal their tummy. Signs like this show they’re ready to accept the other cat — though it may not be mutual yet. If you see signs your cats aren’t happy, don’t panic. A little hissing or growling doesn’t mean they’ll never be friends. Try giving them treats together, or coaxing them to play with favorite toys at the same time. Most importantly, keep their interactions limited and supervised while they figure out this new relationship. Depending on your individual cats, it may take weeks, months or even years before they happily coexist, but that doesn’t mean all-out warfare. With patience and preparation, you can help your cats successfully navigate their new social interactions.

Adding a new cat to the family will require an adjustment period but careful planning will pay off in the end,

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It might not be love at first sight, but introducing a new cat to the family can be done without a claws out incident. Take your time and be prepared.

How to successfully introduce a new cat to your feline family Brandpoint Content

o you already have a cat or two, but want to grow your feline family? You may be wondering the best ways to go about it. While it’s true that cats are more social than they’re given credit for, animal behaviorists still recommend a slow, strategic approach when introducing a new cat to your household. Here are some tips to help your new cat get along more smoothly with cats you already have in your home.

1. Choose your new cat with care First ensure your new cat is healthy, up-to-date on vaccinations and already spayed or neutered. Reputable animal shelters will be able to provide documentation on each cat’s vaccinations and health screenings. Then you may also want to take them to your regular vet for a checkup. Contrary to popular opinion, it may be best to consider a mature cat that has a history of living successfully with other felines. Younger cats do not necessarily show deference to an older cat, and some older cats are stressed by a young cat’s high level of energy.

2. Prepare to bring the new cat home Consider housing the new cat in a separate room or floor before making any introductions. That means providing a new set of everything a cat needs to be comfortable: litter box, food and water dishes, a soft place to sleep and enrichment like toys, a cat condo or places to climb and perch. You may want to consider revamping

spaces throughout your home to provide multiple places cats can enjoy before introducing them. Make sure your new cat and existing cats won’t accidentally run into each other every time you open the door to the new cat’s space by setting up a baby gate or barrier. In addition, keep your cats’ claws clipped so they’ll be less likely to do serious injury if they get into a scrap when they first meet.

3. Be patient Give your new feline lots of time to get used to you, and the space, before attempting introductions. Every cat is an individual, and may take time to become comfortable in their new home. Because they’re so unique, you won’t know who’ll be more stressed about the introduction - your existing cat(s) or the newcomer. Chances are good your cats are aware of each other long before they can see one another. Feeding or offering treats on opposite sides of the door can foster positive associations before they meet.

4. Introduce them, one sense at a time Depending on your home’s layout, your cats may already smell and/or hear each other. At the beginning, find ways to limit the senses by which they’re encountering each other. For example, let them smell each other’s scent by swapping their beds or blankets for a few days. If your home allows, try a room swap, letting each cat inhabit the other’s space for a while. You can also try feeding them on opposite sides of a baby gate with a sheet draped over it, so they’ll hear and smell each other without visual contact.

registered teams of Pet Partners therapy animal organization (petpartners.org). The group visits with their own registered therapy dogs at Mercy Hospital Folsom, M.O.R.E, state preschools, resource rooms, colleges, base fire camps, etc. For more information, please contact Val Kneppel at (530) 306-7338 or email valsk9services@gmail.com for therapy dog training or information about Pet Partners or the Foothill Therapy Dog Group.

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FREE Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events for Residents of El Dorado County BY APPOINTMENT ONLY Space is limited: Please visit our website for more information and future event dates; email hhw@edcgov.us or call 530-621-5300

Photo by Odin Rasco

Scott Walker and Diamond enjoy time together at a dog park in Cameron Park. The once abandoned pooch is loving her forever home.

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HAPPY HEALTHY PETS 2026 9

Diamond is

Funding sources Animal Outreach is fully funded by donations and grants, typically through large animal welfare nonprofits like ASPCA, PetCo Love, PetSmart, charities and Cal Animal. The public can also donate money into any fund they like. There are general funds and and restricted funds for specific programs. “We have our free feral day fund, a new building fund and we also take items such as blankets, towels and food for cats and dogs because we have an unhoused program that we help with. Other items including litter boxes and pet carriers are appreciated,” said Butterfield. The organization holds several fundraising events every year, including Pins 4 Paws Bowling and a fall fundraiser, both at the Apex at Red Hawk, plus four bingo events a year at the Shingle Springs Community Center.

unbreakable n By Odin Rasco

New shelter

Volunteers assist with Animal Outreach’s adoption events as well as shelter activities.

Photo by Shelly Thorene

Animal Outreach’s future, larger shelter, located just a block away from the the current location, will be ready next summer. “They basically gutted the whole inside of the building and they’re building a brand new shelter inside,” said Butterfield. “It is going to be triple the size and brand new so we’re really excited about it.” The new facility will contain more exam rooms, a larger adoption floor and shelter/ foster intake/exam rooms, two surgery suites, a dedicated dental area and bigger For more recovery rooms for surgery patients. There information visit will also be several dedicated quarantine animaloutreach. rooms for shelter cats needing medical net. treatment.

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Seeing Diamond the German shepherd walking around a Cameron Park dog park in September, happy as can be and snuggling up against her new owner, Scott Walker, it’s clear this dog has found her own happy ending.

little less than a year ago, it was an entirely different story. Some happy endings like Diamond’s only come along after a bizarre adventure or significant hardship, and Diamond had her share. Right before Christmas 2025, Diamond and her litter of seven newborn puppies were suddenly homeless, dropped off at the gate of the El Dorado County German Shepherd Rescue. The puppies were still so young, they hadn’t even opened their eyes. Even at this juncture, there was already an issue — the rescue wasn’t equipped to take in the puppies, and it didn’t offer direct drop-offs. The rescue, started 27 years ago in Shingle Springs by Cindy Williams, alleviates the load put on local shelters by taking in German shepherds when needed, but the dogs need to go through El Dorado County Animal Services processing first. Williams used her connections with the county shelter to make sure all the Diamond dogs were promptly seen.

“They went up to El Dorado County Animal Services, which is a fantastic place,” Williams recalled. “They took great care of them for a week or so until we could find a foster family. We found Abby and Jim Schaudel, the family that was willing to foster all of them. They were so amazing.” The Schaudel family had never fostered animals before, but saw a social media post by Williams calling for help and decided it was the right time to give it a try. Their last pet had passed on a couple years prior, and Jim saw it as a way to bring the pitterpatter of paws back into their home. The Schaudels — Abby, Jim and their two teenage daughters — put a small swimming pool in the back of their car, put the puppies in it, took them home and cared for them for a month and a half while forever homes were found. “It was Christmas time, so we thought it would be hard to find other people who were going to be around to foster them,” Jim explained. “That

Photos courtesy of Scott Walker

Diamond splashes around the bank of Folsom Lake, above, returning from a quick swim. Below, it’s clear Diamond has it ruff — or not! The pooch loves to settle in a cozy chair for a lazy day.

10 HAPPY HEALTHY PETS 2026

was part of the reason we decided to do it. It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love. It was an experience and it was tough, but I wouldn’t have given it up for the world.” While taking care of the puppies, Jim would check their weights daily with the help of his daughters to make sure they were growing up properly and getting fed enough; the smaller ones were put first in line to nurse with Diamond on any given day. After the pups had done some growing up, Diamond moved while she awaited her forever home. Just a few weeks later, each and every puppy had also been taken in by families happy to have them. Though fostering the seven pups was a lot of work for Jim and his family, the work didn’t stop there — soon after, they took in another litter that had been found in Lake County. Luckily for Diamond, her search for a forever home didn’t take long. Scott Walker and his wife had recently started looking for a new dog. The couple’s poodle Charlie

HAPPY HEALTHY PETS 2026 23

ANIMAL OUTREACH — a lifeline for animals in need n By Shelly Thorene

Diamond’s puppies grew up fast while the Schaudels fostered them, tracking their growth daily to make sure they stayed healthy.

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nimal Outreach in Diamond Springs has been saving the lives of furry friends since 1992. The no-kill shelter provides foster care for cats and kittens, affordable preventative veterinary and dental care for cats and dogs and helps homeless animals find safe, loving homes. “Our shelter is very, very nice. It’s calm and they get a lot of attention.” said Dallas Butterfield, director of operations since 2025. “It is one of my favorite shelters, including the staff and the volunteers. “Animal Outreach is staffed by a chief veterinarian, vet techs, vet assistants, animal care technicians and office staff,” she continued. “Volunteers help with everything from cat care, laundry and in the clinic. We have volunteers at all the stores where we do adoptions.” “We only rescue cats and kittens but we provide low cost clinics for spay and neuter services, vaccinations, and preventative care and dental care for cats and dogs,” Butterfield added. “Once an animal is spayed or neutered, they are available and they’re listed online. We have four adoption locations: this location, Petco on Missouri Flat, PetSmart on East Bidwell in Folsom and PetSmart on Sunrise in Citrus Heights.” At its current location, space to house cats and kittens is limited. “At the height of kitten season, we’ll get calls all day long asking us to intake. Sometimes we do have to say no,” Butterfield explained. “For us, as a nonprofit, we have certain restraints based on funding, space, employee time so we typically say yes when we can. During kitten season, we try to work with people who are willing to foster. They get all the services through us so we can make sure the animals are fixed, vaccinated and find loving homes.” Butterfield goes through a surrender list weekly, prioritizing cats with an immediate need. The surrender waitlist time can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, she shared. “We have ways to figure out how to say yes.” Animal Outreach differs from municipal shelters which are typically operated by city or county governments and are legally required to take in every animal that comes in no matter how sick or injured the pet may be or how many pets arrive on a single day. Municipal shelters are often forced to euthanize pets when space to house them is unavailable.

Community support Foster periods for cats and kittens typically range from one to two months and Animal Outreach provides support throughout the process by providing food, litter, supplies, veterinary care and guidance from experienced foster coordinators. “Foster programs are huge,” said Butterfield. “Our capacity is just so much higher with the foster program. If a person is interested they can fill out an application. We contact them when we get an animal. We really need people to open their homes if they have time and space for the cats and kittens.” Volunteers Maddy and Kenneth Trenholm of Folsom have been volunteering with Animal Outreach for more than two years. “We love cats and we bring strays in all of the time. Right now, we have a little Siamese at our back door. They’re little helpless souls,” said Maddy. A page and a handbook on the Animal Outreach website describes the fostering program. If a person is interested they can fill out an application. “We contact them when we get an animal. We really need people to open their homes if they have time and space for the cats and kittens,” said Butterfield.

Animal Outreach Director of Operations Dallas Butterfield holds a kitten at the shelter on Enterprise Drive.

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died in August 2025 and, after they returned home from a road trip at the start of 2026, they decided it was time to bring a new dog into their lives. Not wanting to unfairly compare any dog they found to Charlie, they looked for other breeds. While looking at local rescues, they saw a German shepherd who they thought just might fit the bill. They brought Diamond home in May, and the bond between the dog and her owners developed very quickly. “She’s a love sponge,” Walker said, petting Diamond on her head as she sat on top of a picnic table to make sure she was at the center of the conversation. “At first, she was anxious with new people and dogs, which isn’t unusual, given the circumstances. But she’s got a very sweet nature and now she tries to hop into bed with us to sleep; she doesn’t fit, but she tries.” Diamond now gets to spend her days taking trips to the dog park and loves the chance to go to Petco or the hardware store. She also loves to go for a swim at Folsom Lake or any chance to have a treat. Her happy ending is just one of many Williams has enjoyed see in her time running the El Dorado County German Shepherd Rescue. “I may have started it, but we have so many wonderful people, the help of so many who want to do it and it’s just remarkable; it’s overwhelming that we are able to help,” Williams said. “We do a calendar every year with pictures of some of the dogs that find a good home — Diamond is in this year’s calendar. I’m so grateful for everyone, for the hard work of the For more volunteers.” information visit The rescue welcomes volunteers and donations edcgsr.org. from those looking to help more happy endings as Diamond’s.

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HAPPY HEALTHY PETS COMMUNITY PHOTOS

Name: Charlie Owners: Larry & Daphne Elsberry City: Shingle Springs Favorite activity: Playing ball (nonstop).

Name: Rayna Owners: Larry & Daphne Elsberry City: Shingle Springs Favorite activity: Digging.

Name: Breezy Breed: Golden Doodle Owners: Pam Roberts & Jonathan Zitomer City: Pleasant Valley Favorite activity: I’m a really good dog and love people and other dogs.

Name: Eleanor Owner: Tim Williams City: Folsom Favorite activity: Camping with Grandma & Grandpa and playing ball.

We asked readers to send in their best pet photos and here they are, each and every one unique and adored by their humans. See more adorable pet photos throughout these pages.

HAPPY HEALTHY PETS COMMUNITY PHOTOS

Name: Cookie Owner: Linda Tempero City: Cameron Park Favorite activity: Greeting any visitors, especially kids.

Name: Benny Owners: Marvin & Donna Bohall City: Pilot Hill Favorite activity: Playing fetch with his favorite blue ring.

Name: Luffy Owners: Caitlynn City: Cameron Park Favorite activity: Napping in the sun and birdwatching.

Name: Duke (left) & Levi (right) Owner: Amanda Molder City: Diamond Springs Favorite activity: Playing fetch.

We asked readers to send in their best pet photos and here they are, each and every one unique and adored by their humans. See more adorable pet photos throughout these pages.

Name: Theo Owner: Barbara Danese City: Placerville Favorite activity: Hummingbird specialist, studies them in living room window all day.

Name: Butters Owner: Charlie Corrasa City: Shingle Springs Favorite activity: Accompanying Charlie wherever he goes! Name: Mira (short for Miracle) Owner: Mary Ellingsworth City: Shingle Springs Favorite activity: Squeaking her toys.

Name: Gem Owner: Mary Ellingsworth City: Shingle Springs Favorite activity: Napping,

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HAPPY HEALTHY PETS COMMUNITY PHOTOS

Name: Bugsy Owner: Lori Heuser City: Shingle Springs Favorite activity: He loves eating and looking out the window.

Name: Rusty Owner: Lynne Bressan City: Pollock Pines Favorite activity: Chasing the tennis ball & have other dogs try to catch him.

We asked readers to send in their best pet photos and here they are, each and every one unique and adored by their humans. See more adorable pet photos throughout these pages.

HAPPY HEALTHY PETS COMMUNITY PHOTOS

Name: Penny Breed: Golden Retriever Owners: Kendal & Cole City: El Dorado Hills Favorite activity: She loves swimming.

Name: Thor Owners: The Morgans City: Pollock Pines Favorite activity: Playing catch and chewing bones!

Name: Apollo Owner: Matthias Gross City: El Dorado Hills Favorite activity: Spending time with Matthias and becoming a service animal.

We asked readers to send in their best pet photos and here they are, each and every one unique and adored by their humans. See more adorable pet photos throughout these pages.

Name: Twinkle Owner: Diane Barley City: Placerville Favorite activity: Loves treats, taking a walk to sniff for all her “friends”.

Thor and Inga were adopted from the El Dorado animal shelter.

Name: Thor Owner: Ann Strong City: Pollock Pines Favorite activity: My favorite activity is to go for a run and wrestle with my sister Inga.

Name: Inga Owner: Ann Strong City: Pollock Pines Favorite activity: Favorite activity is going for walks and watching nature.

Name: Snicker Buttons Owners: Carol & Bob McLeon City: Camino Favorite activity: Loves warm summer mornings.

Name: Camper Owner: Rory Miller City: Camino Favorite activity: Watching Fly Fishing and Hiking.

Name: Knox Owner: Debbie Cline Knochenhauer City: Cameron Park Favorite activity: Going to the beach.

Name: Posie Owner: Debbie Cline Knochenhauer City: Cameron Park Favorite activity: Begging for treats.

14 HAPPY HEALTHY PETS 2026 Courtesy photo

Blink enjoys a snuggle in a blanket at his family’s home. He overcame a serious health issue with help from the El Dorado County Humane Society’s new Friends of the El Dorado County Animal Shelter program and is now living a purr-fect life.

HAPPY HEALTHY PETS 2026 19

New partnership

helps local animals n By El Dorado County Humane Society

very animal entering a municipal shelter deserves the opportunity to receive the care they need to heal, recover, and find a loving home. But sometimes, the veterinary needs of a dog or cat go beyond what public shelter funding can provide. This is where community support can make a life-changing difference. The El Dorado County Humane Society’s new Friends of the El Dorado County Animal Shelter program has been created to help bridge the gap. Through financial assistance for specialized veterinary care and training for pets that would not otherwise be adoptable, the program provides an additional resource for dogs and cats in the care of El Dorado County Animal Services whose needs extend beyond the scope of usual shelter-funded care. “The Friends of El Dorado County Animal Shelter program was formed to help expand and complement what is possible for the success of the pets that come into the county shelter,” said Kim Parsons, president of El Dorado Humane Society. “It is one pet at a time. Every success story starts with a community that is willing to help!”

When extraordinary care is needed Municipal animal shelters rely on government funding that allows them to provide essential services to their communities. This includes housing animals, providing basic veterinary care, spay & neuter procedures, treating injuries and illnesses, and preparing animals for adoption. Some animals need more. A dog or cat may arrive with a serious orthopedic injury requiring surgery. A pet may require procedures, rehabilitation, or ongoing treatment that simply isn’t covered by the shelter’s available veterinary budget. For these animals, the difference between receiving specialized treatment and going without it can be enormous. “The Friends program gives our shelter pets with extended medical needs the opportunity to ultimately be adopted into a loving and safe home,” said Brittany White, Animal Shelter Supervisor, El Dorado County Animal Services.

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Meet Blink When a sweet stray kitten arrived at the El Dorado County Animal Shelter, staff noticed severe squinting and eye discharge. At times he kept his eyes closed. A preliminary veterinarian exam noted his eyelids looked deformed and the fur around his eyes was rubbing against his eyes — a painful condition that would cause scarring and eventual blindness. While eye removal (enucleation) was initially considered, the medical team sought a specialist’s evaluation to see if his sight could be saved. Because specialized care fell outside the shelter’s budget, staff turned to the Friends program for help. They scheduled an appointment at the Animal Eye Center for the kitten. The diagnosis confirmed that the kitten had a condition called eyelid agenesis (congenital absence of complete eyelids). The good news is that there is a way to save his eyes and his sight — a $2,000 cryosurgery could freeze the hair follicles around the eyelids, stopping further irritation and preserving his vision. Friends of the El Dorado County Animal Shelter readily agreed, “Let’s help this kitten,” and approved the funding. Now the collaboration starts. A dedicated El Dorado County Animal Services foster Katie Wiseman, who had already been caring for the kitten and named him Blink, agreed to foster him through his surgery and recovery. This is no

Current El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office handlers and K-9s Deputy O’Camb and K-9 Mars Belgian Malinois Deputy Carrabino and K-9 Adonis German shepherd Deputy Combs and K-9 Khan Belgian Malinois

small task as Blink required multiple follow up visits to the Animal Eye Center in Rocklin as For more well as daily information visit treatments to eldoradohumanesociety. his eyes. Katie org. and her family fell in love with Blink, and he found his forever home with the Wisemans. “Since the surgery, Blink is noticeably more comfortable,” Kate shared. “I clean his eyes and apply a lubricant every day to keep them healthy, but otherwise he gets to live a pretty normal life.”

Community partnership Partnerships between animal welfare nonprofit organizations and municipal animal shelters have become very important in communities across the country. A donation to Friends of the El Dorado County Animal Shelter is 100% tax deductible — EIN: 94-3023522. Checks can be mailed to: Friends of EDCAS 777 Pleasant Valley Road Diamond Springs, CA 95619

Courtesy photo

Blink before surgery had a lot of trouble seeing and heavily relied on his foster family.

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provide that comfort for victims, as well,” he explained The team will continued to make a difference for years to come. “(The partnership will last) as long as I am working and certified and he’s able to work,” Cuddeback said. “I’ve got him forever. (Through) the NCFI, one of the agreements is a minimum of five years. “That’s like the agreement they have with Congress,” he continued. “They want these dogs working and training for five years minimum. But there’s no plan to stop at five years. So, it’s going to be as long as my career lasts or his.” Local residents who are interested in meeting Cooper will have plenty of opportunities.

“I want him to be there for the community. I want him to go to community events, be available to everybody,” Cuddeback shared. “So, I would say, don’t hesitate to come up to us if you see us in an event, and say hi.” Cooper will also be present when Cuddeback teaches local classes about internet safety and ways to help prevent kids from becoming victims. El Dorado County sheriff’s Sgt. Kyle Parker praised the work Cuddeback and his partners perform. “They are truly on the frontlines fighting for some of the last true victims in our society,” he said. “By having Cooper as this new tool, (it) is just going to enhance our effectiveness at that mission.”

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SUPER COOPER K-9 electronics-detection dog on the job

Photo by Lance Armstrong

Det. Cuddeback and K-9 Cooper are a great law enforcement team with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

n By Lance Armstrong

l Dorado County sheriff’s Det. Aaron Cuddeback has a new partner: K-9 Cooper, a 2-yearold yellow Labrador retriever who accompanies him both on- and off-duty each day. While Cooper is not the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office only dog on its force, he has the distinction of being its first electronics-detection K-9. In that work, Cooper uses his training to detect a chemical on the circuit boards of electronics. The addition of Cooper increased the sheriff’s office’s current number of dogs to six, with the others being three Belgian Malinois, one German shepherd and another Labrador retriever. Those dogs are classified as either apprehension or narcotics dogs. Cuddeback, who received Cooper through a program supported by the Secret Service, performs work in digital forensics and internet crimes against children. “Based off of my stats and the work that I’ve done, they provide these dogs to agencies that they feel could use them and have shown that they have done the work to deserve these K-9s,” Cuddeback explained. To acquire Cooper, Cuddeback traveled to Hoover, Ala., to participate in a training program at the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute. The institute is known as the premier law enforcement training center for cyber and electronic crime forensics in the United States. Cuddeback, a 21-year EDSO veteran, shared matching the dog with its trainer is not something randomly performed. As part of the pairing process, Cuddeback filled out a questionnaire that had inquiries about his age, height and weight, whether he lives in a house or apartment, if he has a fenced-in yard and whether he would like to have a black or yellow Labrador retriever. After Cuddeback and his dog were paired, they were given some bonding time for about an hour before any actual classroom work and hands-on training began. Prior to Cooper’s introduction to Cuddeback, he received more than six months of training with the Indianapolisbased Jordan Detection K9, and his training is never over. “(I will be) training him every day,”

Cuddeback said. “I definitely want to make him the best detection dog I can. I want him to be a dog that can be relied on, not only by our agency, but by other surrounding agencies, because right now he is the only one in like the Sacramento area. There is one or two in the Bay Area. They’re the closest ones that I’m aware of. “He does have some play in him still, but he knows when it’s time to work,” he added. “His demeanor, I think, has been great. But there’s always room for improvement. “I want to make sure that if he’s sitting with a young child, that he doesn’t want to get playful with that child because that might scare the child,” the detective continued. “He’s a big dog. He’s 70 pounds. Yeah, he’s not a small dog. So, working with him on that (playfulness), that’s constant training every day.” Sharing details about Cooper’s abilities thus far, Cuddeback described him as an already valuable asset to the sheriff’s office. “He’ll actually point his nose right into the area where that electronic is, and that can be something as small as a little micro SD card,” he said. “It could be your cellphone, an obvious thing, a laptop, a computer, all those obvious things. But Photos courtesy of EDSO they can also find things that maybe are a Electronics Storage Detection K-9 Cooper goes through training with EDSO Det. Aaron Cuddeback, little outside the box, like hidden cameras, above. Cooper can even find electronic devices tossed into the water. GPS trackers. They have been used to find like small AirTags, like the Apple AirTags that are hidden in a car where we have overlooked them.” Cooper has also been trained to detect electronics that lie as much as 5 feet underwater as well as those buried a few feet underground. The K-9 officer has already been involved in a few investigations, including an abuse in the suspect likely had hidden electronics. “We went through with (Cooper) and conducted a search ... and it ended up being that there was a cellphone taped underneath the dresser drawer that he had located that the officers had missed,” Cuddeback said. “And I haven’t got official confirmation, but it seems like that turns out to be what he was using to communicate with the (victim), which was intentionally hidden.” While detecting a chemical on the circuit boards of electronics is Cooper’s primary job, Cuddeback noted his secondary job is therapy work. “Because of the therapy side of him, he can sit with victims who come in, who may need that support and be there for them while we maybe talk to them and