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A Nose for Justice: Tank's Big Promotion
Trouble was surrendered to our Humane Officers in the field in mid-September 2025. He arrived at the Humane Society of Ventura County (HSVC) with his best friend, Doja, a female Pit Bull mix who was lucky enough to find her home in January of this year. With his lovable personality and unwavering obsession with tennis balls, we thought surely Trouble would find a home in no time. But as the months passed, Trouble's spark began to slowly dwindle. We knew we had to act fast to help this special pup reach his full potential.
Erica Jackson, HSVC's Senior Manager of Admissions and Pet Support Services, saw Trouble's toy drive and recognized him as a potential candidate for a search dog training program. She reached out to our friends at the Search Dog Foundation, but was informed that at 4-years-old, Trouble was beyond their strict age requirements. However, their staff connected us with Sector K9, a nonprofit organization in Waxahachie, Texas, that provides detection work training for future police K9s.
Staff sent several videos of Trouble to Sector K9, and they unanimously decided he would make an excellent candidate for their program. However, Pit Bulls like Trouble only recently became eligible for their program, and require special fundraising efforts to cover transportation and training costs. With this in mind, HSVC's Director of Development, Amber Landis, went to work reaching out to long-term supporters, hoping they would sponsor Trouble's "scholarship" to get him to Texas and complete the program. Thanks to the generosity of a group of special, dedicated donors, we raised the $6,000 needed to send Trouble to Texas!
Transportation was scheduled for Trouble on November 6th, and he arrived in Waxahachie on November 10, 2025. Sector K9's staff affectionately renamed Trouble to Tank, and he became just that once training began! Tank breezed through his training, using his toy drive to complete drug odor-detection exercises with ease. Soon enough, he was ready to be placed with an awaiting police department.
According to Brittany Jandasek, Operations Director at Sector K9, there is a specific selection process for police departments to receive a Pittie through their program. Once they found a suitable department for Tank, he and his new handler, Officer Highley, were partnered. The pair completed a 2-week handler course to learn to work together and build their technique for police K9 handling. Once again, Tank soared through the training, and he graduated to officially become part of a nationally certified Police K9 Team through the American Working Dog Association on November 20, 2025.
From shelter dog to serving his community every day, we are so proud of our special boy, Tank. Thank you to our staff who kickstarted his journey, to the donors who made his transport and training possible, and to our friends at Sector K9 for believing in him. Congratulations to K9 Tank and Officer Highley, your newest Narcotics Detection team at the Pleasanton Police Department in Kansas!
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