The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is looking forward to welcoming the newest member of its K-9 program, K-9 Akim.

Akim is scheduled to arrive in Washoe County in early March and will partner with Deputy Corey Solferino to work both patrol and narcotics.

The Sheriff’s Office acquired Akim thanks to a very generous donation from a member of the Honorary Deputy Sheriff’s Association who wishes to remain anonymous. Given the importance and effectiveness of the K-9 Program, the donor wanted to make sure the Sheriff’s Office would be able to replace K-9 Kraft who passed away unexpectedly last year.

The donation provided funds for the purchase of a new canine and all travel and training for Akim and Deputy Solferino. The donation included a protective vest designed specifically for canines.

K-9 Akim is a 17-month-old, sable Czechoslovakian Shepherd. He was born in Prague and brought to the United States to train for a career in law enforcement at the highly reputable Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana. Deputy Solferino first met Akim at Vohne Liche and chose him as a partner from hundreds of potential dogs.

Solferino said he started by working with a number of different dogs in situations that would potentially show how the dog would react when out on patrol.

“After four days I was down to just two dogs,” he said. “Akim was the younger of the two, the rookie, but I was impressed with his eagerness, his enthusiasm and his interest. The two of us bonded very well when going through training exercises so I knew we would become a great team.”

Deputy Solferino and Akim continued intensive training in a variety of law enforcement skills such as tracking, narcotics search, and suspect apprehension assistance.

Solferino and Akim are scheduled to graduate from their Vohne Liche training on March 9. At that time, they will head home to Nevada and as soon as they qualify under the Peace Officers Standard and Training program they will go to work with the Sheriff’s K-9 program.

“We are really looking forward to getting home and getting to work,” Solferino said.