Vance, Enid PD host National Police Canine Association event Published Oct. 10, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. Mary Davis 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- More than 75 police canines and handlers from around the nation will travel to Vance Air Force Base to attend and compete in the National Police Canine Association 2007 National Police Training Seminar and Competition Oct. 15-19. The event, hosted by the 71st Security Forces Squadron and Enid Police Department, will provide training tips from law enforcement experts and present an opportunity for teams to exhibit their skills. Two 71st SFS canines - Cini and Eukay - will display their law-enforcement prowess during the drug and explosive-detection events and patrol competition. "They trained a minimum four hours per duty cycle or about 30 hours per month," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Bowling, 71st SFS kennel master. "Our military working dogs are going to do well during the events." Although the competition is a part of the agenda, the training seminar is a key part of the event, said Officer Ryan Fuxa with the Enid Police Department. "We will have canine experts providing information on various techniques, while exposing the dogs and handlers to a variety of different scenarios," said Officer Fuxa, a patrolman with more than 13 years of experience. "We hope people will be able to walk away with a lot of useful law-enforcement information and some great training to bring back to their organizations." The officers will receive training on legal topics, narcotics searches, tracking, problem solving, tactical obedience and patrol tactics as well as explosive classes. "I'm excited about attending the seminars and learning about the different procedures and techniques from the experts," Sergeant Bowling said. "We're also pretty excited to have teams from all over the country seeing what we do at Vance." The public is invited to attend a canine demonstration at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at David Allen Memorial Ball Park in Enid.