During the Brownfield City Council meeting on Thursday May 6, 2021 one of the agenda items was consider a resolution to retire one of the Brownfield Police Departments canine (K-9) dogs. Resolution No. 05062021 released Nikki from duty and also authorized former Patrol Sergeant Andres Juarez to adopt Nikki. This is the first K-9 search dog the BPD has had the opportunity to retire. BPD Chief Tony Serbantez said, “We don’t get to do this because most k-9’s pass away while in service.”
Nikki is an 8 year old female Belgium Malinois that has been working for the Brownfield Police Department since 2015. Nikki was purchased from Hill Country Dog Center in Bandera, Texas.
Nikki served her first year with another handler with whom she was certified after their initial training. Unfortunately Nikki’s first handler became ill and was not able to work with her for a few months. During this time Nikki had become somber due to not having been at work. Thats when Sgt. Juarez on July 26, 2016 began his training on how to become her handler. Nikki did require help from Lubbock PD, and even from Hill Country Dog Center, however they eventually began to click together. Nikki and Sgt. Juarez finally received their first certification with the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association (N.N.D.D.A) on August 23, 2016.
Nikki became certified to detect, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Nikki has also been certified to detect methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or commonly known as ecstasy or Molly in the past. Once Nikki and Sgt. Juarez became certified, they have taken part in at least 139 Searches and have trained around 1,200 hours. These searches have included private vehicles, charter style buses, and motel parking lots. During these years, Sgt. Juarez and Nikki contacted the local hotel and motel owners and began a working relationship with them in Brownfield and the K-9 Department.
Nikki not only filled her role in the City of Brownfield her favorite thing has been going to the local schools. She has conducted K-9 searches at Oak Grove Elementary, Brownfield Middle School, Brownfield High School, Meadow ISD, and Wellman-Union ISD. Nikki and Sgt. Juarez has had the privilege to do presentations at Bright Beginnings, Colonial Heights Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, and Wellman-Union ISD. According to Juarez, Nikki has brought lots of smiles to many students of Terry County, and has enjoyed every second of it. “Nikki has always enjoyed being around children and is very docile around them,” Juarez said.
Nikki’s biggest bust to brag about was on May 9, 2016 when she detected 110 pounds of marijuana on a traffic stop.
