“Last Call” for Sci

As a formal Colorado Parks and Wildlife honor guard stood at attention, CPW Officer Phil Gurule solemnly walked his partner, Sci, from their patrol truck to a stage where CPW officials waited.

Officers’ radios crackled as a Colorado State Patrol dispatcher reported the “last call” for Sci, who was retiring after nine years of duty with CPW in which he fearlessly approached poachers, armed offenders and searched for potentially dangerous suspects, trailers and trucks for contraband, all while protecting Officer Gurule’s back.

And although Sci is a Dutch Shepherd, his retirement from the agency as the senior member of CPW’s K-9 Team was as emotional a ceremony as for any longtime wildlife officer.

Following Sci’s retirement, CPW Officer Zach Picard brought forward Sage, a 9-month-old black lab, to be sworn in as the newest member of the CPW K-9 Team.

Sage joins two other members of the CPW K-9 Unit: Samson, a Belgian Malinois, who has partnered with Officer Ian Petkash since 2019; and Cash, an 8-year-old black lab who has partnered for eight years with Officer Brock McArdle.

In addition, CPW used the ceremony to announce a new statewide K-9 program expansion that will be fully staffed within the next year-and-a-half. CPW has been working on a pilot K-9 program since 2015.

“When Sci joined CPW in 2015, he launched a pilot program to determine if dogs could be valuable in wildlife management,” said CPW Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement Jim Hawkins. “Our K-9 pilot program has proven to be very beneficial in wildlife detection, detecting evidence related to criminal incidents and public engagement. We are excited to expand our K-9 program statewide.

“And we have one dog – Samson – that is especially valuable for bear management and hard releases. A ‘hard release’ is a non-lethal method designed to restore a bear’s natural fear of humans. We have seen very positive outcomes with hard releases, which help mitigate human-bear conflicts and ultimately save the bears’ lives.”

In April 2024, Colorado’s 2024-25 Long Appropriations Bill opened the door for a new Colorado Parks and Wildlife statewide K-9 program. The new statewide K-9 program will have a lead K-9 Supervisor and five K-9 handlers assigned to the new statewide unit.

“Overall, our sportsmen and sportswomen highly support this program,” Hawkins said. 

“I have received many comments saying, ‘It’s nice to see where my hunting and fishing license fees are going.’”

Hawkins explained the dogs in the statewide program will be “single-purpose” vs. “dual-purpose” dogs. Dual-purpose dogs are trained in suspect apprehension/handler protection in addition to training for detecting poaching and bear management.

The new dogs are not being taught those tactics and will strictly be used to detect wildlife, article searches, illegally trafficked species, and bear management. CPW will also explore other avenues, such as searching for lost persons in the backcountry or aquatic nuisance species, in the future.

“Washington is the only other state that uses dogs for bear management purposes, so that makes us one of the first agencies in the nation,” Hawkins said. “It’s exciting to be pushing the envelope on that.”

K-9 officers in the statewide program will

• Respond to complaints of problem bears throughout Colorado

• Assist in “hard releases,” a non-lethal process designed to restore a bear’s natural fear of humans
• Detect and locate poached or illegal wildlife and other evidence
• Visit schools and public events around the state to help share CPW’s mission

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s K-9 Officer Highlights

K-9 Officer “Sci” Career Highlights

K-9 Sci was the first dog to reinstate CPW’s K-9 program in 2015. Together, Sci and his handler, District Wildlife Manager (DWM) Philip Gurule, overcame initial challenges, including funding, time commitments and updating the K-9 policy from 1985. Sci’s initial training focused on detecting nine different wildlife odors (bear, mountain lion, pronghorn, deer, elk, moose, waterfowl, upland game and fish), article searches for items like guns, knives and shell casings, as well as handler protection.

Sci made his debut at the Interstate 70 check station, where he quickly became an asset. His ability to inspect covered trailers, enclosed trailers, camper trailers and packed truck beds reduced a process that could take over an hour to under five minutes. This benefited hunters and improved efficiency for the officers and the overall operation. From 2015 to 2024, Sci assisted at multiple check stations and consistently received positive feedback.

As a team, DWM Gurule and Sci participated in several outreach programs, demonstrating ci’s exceptional ability to detect animal parts and pieces that are undetectable to the human eye. ci’s skills were also instrumental in law enforcement operations. One notable instance involved racking two suspects who fled from State Patrol and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. After leading officers on a vehicle chase along Highway 115 into the Turkey Creek neighborhood, the suspects abandoned their car at a rock quarry and fled on foot into a wooded area. Sci successfully tracked both suspects, leading to their capture without incident. Along the way, Sci also located a driver’s license and a credit card dropped by the suspects.

Sci’s contributions to wildlife cases have been significant. Here are some notable cases:

Iniki Kapu Poaching Case

K-9 Sci helped search a campsite on Signal Butte Road used by suspected poacher Iniki Kapu. The site was scattered with trash and articles over a large area. Sci’s keen nose helped locate knives, makeshift weapons, arrows and two turkey carcasses hidden in a broken tent. This was the beginning of a larger investigation that uncovered 12 illegally taken deer, a bighorn sheep, and two turkeys, ultimately leading to Kapu receiving a lifetime hunting suspension.

Gold Mine Poaching

Acting on a tip from Operation Game Thief, DWM Gurule and Sci investigated a neo-Nazi militia group suspected of poaching three elk near the Cripple Creek-Victor Gold Mine. While they initially found evidence for two elk. Sci led them directly to the third elk. He later assisted during a search warrant at the suspect’s residence, identifying additional wildlife parts and pieces, which helped charge one suspect, with active arrest warrants for two others.

Cottonwood Pass Poaching (Ryan Grondin Case)

On Sept. 1, 2022, officers received a report that an individual had illegally shot a buck with his bow the day before the season started. DWM Nick Gallowich and DWM Gurule investigated and found evidence at the scene. The suspect, Ryan Grondin, fled Colorado but was apprehended in Wyoming after a coordinated effort between law enforcement agencies. Though Grondin had disposed of the carcass and the head, DNA evidence from his truck matched the DNA found at the scene. Sci played a critical role in confirming the exact location where the shot occurred, helping to prove the deer was shot from the road. The case concluded on July 24, 2024, with Grondin taking a plea deal for willful destruction, illegal possession, hunting out season, restitution and forfeiture of his hunting equipment. He is currently awaiting his hunting license suspension hearing.

K-9 Samson’s Career Highlights

K-9 Samson and handler, DWM Ian Petkash, passed initial certification in 2019 and hit the ground running. He has helped with cases involving fish, turkey, waterfowl, deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bear, lion and mountain goat.

He excels at article search and has found countless pieces of evidence over the years including spent rifle cartridges, arrows, shotshell wads, cell phones, knives, latex gloves used by the suspect, salt blocks, drink bottles (fingerprints) and discarded chewing tobacco (DNA). Samson’s skills have caught the attention of other law enforcement agencies and he has been asked to help with multiple homicides and attempted murder cases.

Samson has helped locate and seize countless fish which were unlawfully taken from South Park’s cherished catch-and-release waters. He has been integral in multiple felony willful destruction cases and has aided officers in investigations spanning Park, Jefferson, Teller, Pueblo, Mesa, Summit and Grand counties. K-9 Samson has also helped with cases at Lake Pueblo, Eleven Mile and Spinney Mountain state parks.

Samson is a crowd pleaser and has showcased his skills at education and outreach events for elementary, middle and high schools, state parks, charity events and the International Sportsmen’s Expo. Samson also helps wildlife officers address bear conflict by teaching bears to avoid locations where they have come into conflict with humans. Samson has helped keep people and bears safe through K-9 hard releases on nuisance bears.

K-9 Cash’s Career Highlights

K-9 Cash is an 8-year-old black lab that was donated to Colorado Park and Wildlife’s K-9 program by Bearpoint Kennel. He has been on duty as a wildlife detection K-9 for eight years.

During this time, he and his handler, Red Feather Lakes DWM Brock McArdle, have assisted CPW with nearly 100 wildlife poaching investigations, wildlife endangered species searches (black-footed ferrets, boreal toads), and countless public outreach appearances. His friendly personality and enthusiastic work ethic is one of a kind and is quickly noticed by all who encounter him!

K-9 Sage is CPW’s Newest Graduate

K-9 Sage completed her training in March 2024 at just 9 months old. Through her training, she learned to hunt for waterfowl, upland game, fish, moose, elk, deer, pronghorn, mountain lions and bear odors. Her newest specialty is Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. In addition to animal scents, Sage can also search for articles such as
brass or backpacks.

Sage proved to be a quick learner in her training and began to recognize all 10 wildlife odors in just one day. Additionally, the certification test takes about an hour to complete, and she was able to complete it in under 12 minutes. She has a wonderful nose and is excited to put it to use.

Although she has not been used in any cases yet, she has been a great asset to the Area 12 staff in education outreach. She has done three school events so far with her handler, DWM Zachary Picard, talking about wildlife management, law enforcement and the use of K-9s in the field. Everyone that Sage meets is immediately a friend and is adored in all the programs that she attends. Sage will follow in the footprints of Sci and Cash by staffing wildlife check stations and promote wildlife conservation through education outreach.

Written by Travis Duncan. Travis is a public information officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Denver. He has lived in Colorado for nearly 20 years and loves the outdoors.