Snellville K9 Unit Second Largest in County, Effective

Nine years ago, the Snellville Police department made the decision to add a K9 unit to their state-of-the-art police force. Now, the unit is the largest out of all the Gwinnett municipalities, surpassed only by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department, and is responsible for dozens of drug busts and apprehension of wanted criminals.

Sgt. David Matson is the handler for K9 Chris, a Malanois. The dynamic duo has worked together since the program’s inception in 2004, making Chris the oldest dog on the force. His biggest moment in the spotlight came during a drug bust in the Summit Chase subdivision a few years back. His knack for sniffing out drugs led to a seizure of an RV stuffed with 1,000 pounds of marijuana, along with over $100K, all hidden inside a small, nearly invisible compartment. 

It was the biggest marijuana seizure the department ever had, according to Sgt. Matson. 

Last month alone, the K9 unit was responsible for around 30 vehicle sniffs for drugs, a couple of tracks of criminals and a number of evidence searches. When a suspect robbed a gas station in town in early April, the K9s were responsible for tracking the suspect, who left on foot, to a lot. They lost the trail there, but were able to identify evidence that could potentially be used to identify the criminal.   

Life for Chris as a K9 is a lot like the life of his handler. He gets up with Sgt. Matson, puts on his work collar and works every shift Matson works. When the shift is done, he comes home, changes collars and has free reign of the house. 

“We hang out and enjoy things as a family,” Sgt. Matson said. “We work better as a team this way.”

That’s not to say that he’s a pet in the traditional sense. Chris has to maintain a strict routine and stay disciplined; if you let them slack off at home, that could translate to the workplace, according to Matson. Trained through the North American Police Work Dog Association, he and the other K9s and handlers train together on a weekly basis. 

Three other dogs serve as Snellville Police K9s. Bart is a Dutch Shepherd and is the second oldest dog on the force. His handler is Sgt. Will Collins and they’ve been a team since 2008. Coop is a unique K9 – he started off as Sgt. Dennis Peters’ personal dog and is a Labrador Retriever mix. When Peters’  original K9, Euro, retired, he volunteered to train Coop. 

Surprisingly, it turned out very well.

The most recent addition to the force is Duko, who is partnered with Ofc. Phil Halliday. Duko was paid for by funds provided by the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association.

Residents and business owners in town have been very supportive of the K9 unit. Most recently, Wild Wings Café raised $5,000 for them, most of which will likely go toward purchasing a new K9 when K9 Chris retires. Project Paws Alive also recently donated K9 vests and trauma kits to the unit.

Without the donation of the vests, two dogs would have been lacking this most basic protection.

If you would like to be involved in supporting the K9 unit, contact Mary Fergus with the Snellville Police Academy Alumni Association. You can also follow the K9s on Facebook.