West Haven Police Department K-9 Unit

09/05/2026

Suspect Bites K-9 Ado during K-9 Apprehension

On September 3rd in the late afternoon, the West Haven Police Department was requested to assist the Connecticut State Police on I-95 northbound in West Haven after a motor vehicle stop was conducted on an erratic driver.

Several West Haven Police Officers responded to assist which included K-9 Ado and his handler. During the course of the investigation, the driver of the vehicle attempted to flee from Officers on foot, and was quickly apprehended by Officers and Troopers.

A struggle ensued, at which point the suspect began to become combative with the Officers and Troopers. K-9 Ado was deployed and successfully assisted the Officers and Troopers with taking the suspect into custody.

During the course of K-9 Ado apprehending the suspect, the suspect bit K-9 Ado in the leg. Luckily, thanks to K-9 Ado's excellent and overwhelming training and experience, coupled with his 8 year law enforcement career in numerous apprehensions, this did not cause K-9 Ado to disengage with the suspect. K-9 Ado was vital in ensuring the Officers and Troopers did not obtain any injuries to themselves during the arrest of a potentially violent person. The suspect was successfully placed in handcuffs without any physical injury to the Officers. K-9 Ado was evaluated, but sustained no visible injuries.

08/28/2026

Please help us wish our beloved K-9 Ado a very happy 9th Birthday!

Follow us to stay up to date on the next birthday!

08/26/2026

Happy National Dog Day to all three of our cherished K-9's!!

08/21/2026

🚨🚨Local Business Donates Land Use for West Haven Police K-9 Unit🚨🚨

The West Haven Police K-9 Unit would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Star Distributors in West Haven for generously donating the use of their property to help construct a Police K-9 obstacle course. Not only has Star Distributors donated the use of their land, but they have been a long standing supporter of our K-9 Unit. Star Distributors has consistently allowed the use of several of their buildings within the City of West Haven for both our K-9 Unit, as well as the Connecticut State Police K-9 Unit which consists of K-9 teams state-wide.

This obstacle course will provide an invaluable training environment not only for the West Haven Police K-9 Unit, but also for K-9 teams from departments throughout the surrounding area. Regular obstacle training helps keep our K-9s physically fit, mentally stimulated, confident, and ready to perform when their skills are needed most.

For working police dogs, training isn't just about preparing for the next call. It's also about keeping them happy, healthy, engaged, and challenged throughout their careers. Having a safe, dedicated space where handlers can train alongside their partners is an incredible resource.

We are extremely grateful to Star Distributors for supporting our K-9s. Their generosity will have a lasting impact on our K-9 teams for years to come.

As we begin bringing this project to life, we are also looking for members of our community and local businesses who may be interested in lending a hand. Whether it is helping with the construction, donating lumber or other materials, or making a monetary contribution toward the project, every bit of support can help us create a safe and effective training environment for our K-9 teams.

If you or your business would like to learn more about the project or have questions about how you may be able to assist, please feel free to reach out. Questions and inquiries can be directed via e-mail [email protected]. As the school year starts to bloom, we will explore high-school woodworking classes to make this a teachable project for our students.

🐾Follow our page to see the updates to this project!🐾

08/13/2026

Both K-9 Ado and K-9 Gamble are enjoying their much needed nights off at home with their families. While K-9 Hanny and her handler are working, we are confident that she is out removing illicit narcotics from our communities.

We are thankful for the continued support the community has shown our program. Stay tuned for a vast variety of things we are looking forward to!

We're here if you need us!

08/03/2026

Great job to our training partners up in Enfield!

07/31/2026

🐾K-9 Gamble Apprehends Fleeing Suspect🐾

On 7/29/2026 at around 8:15pm, an Officer conducted a motor vehicle stop on Campbell Avenue. During the course of the stop, the operator of the vehicle sped off, fleeing from the motor vehicle investigation.

Tire deflation devices were utilized, and successful in drastically reducing the speed the vehicle was capable of driving.

The vehicle became disabled a short distance away due to the use of the tire deflation device. The operator abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot.

K-9 Gamble was immediately deployed and successfully apprehended the operator after a short foot pursuit where they were taken into custody without further incident.

The operator was subsequently charged with numerous motor vehicle, criminal and narcotic related violations.

Follow our page to see future posts!

07/26/2026

**K-9 Track leads to a juvenile arrest of Stolen Vehicle/Robbery Suspect**

On 7/25/2026 at around 1:30pm, the West Haven Police Department was notified by a neighboring agency that a stolen vehicle from North Haven that was stolen the same morning was entering the City of West Haven. The stolen vehicle, a Kia Sportage, had been involved in a purse snatching at Shoprite in East Haven about an hour prior. The occupants of this vehicle were reported to have caused minor injury to the victim during the robbery of her purse.

Additionally, the same vehicle was observed in Norwalk earlier the same day entering garages and vehicles attempting to steal other vehicles and belongings from unsuspecting victims.

During the above mentioned time, officers began canvassing the area for the stolen Kia which was subseqiently located in a parking lot on Elm Street unoccupied. Given the short time delay, K-9 Gamble was deployed and began a track from the stolen vehicle. K-9 Gamble tracked about 1/8th of a mile to the front porch of a near by residence. K-9 Gamble alerted to a specific door of the residence, indicating the suspect may be inside.

Numerous officers responded and surrounded the residence and made contact with the occupants a short time later. An adult of the residence emerged and confirmed her son, a 13 year old juvenile, was the operator of the stolen motor vehicle and was inside the residence.

East Haven Police arrived to assist and both agencies conducted a joint investigation, which lead to the arrest of the 13 year old male for numerous charges including Robbery, and Stolen Motor Vehicle, amongst other charges.

Had K-9 Gamble not conducted a track for the suspects, the arrest would not have been possible. It's for situations like these we train for, to ensure top notch results. This is a direct reflection of the time and effort made by K-9 teams across the State of Connecticut to maintain high quality K-9's.

Exceptional work by the officers involved! Follow our page for continous K-9 related stories!

07/18/2026

The West Haven Police Department's K-9 Unit would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to a local boy who scheduled his own tag sale, selling his OWN toys, with all the proceeds he obtained to be donated directly to the K-9 program. We made sure that the West Haven PD came in numbers, and that Cameron got to meet K-9 Gamble, and see a little K-9 demonstration right in front of his home!

Officers, Dispatchers, and members of the West Haven Fire Department stopped by to ensure Cameron got the support and recognition he deserves!

With selling his toys, and a few donations from neighbors, Cameron was able to raise about $700 to help our police dogs!

This is an incredible story that needs to have attention drawn to it. Cameron deserves the world to know how big his heart is! Share this post and let's all give Cameron a round of applause for his hard work!

West Haven Police Department

07/18/2026

K-9 Gamble and all of his co-workers were nothing short of ecstatic to be apart of Cameron's day! Thank you for all you're doing, little man!

When Brittney posted that her son Cameron was holding a Tag Sale to raise money for our West Haven Police Department K9 look who showed up to say 'thank you'. PD and K9 Gamble!
TY Gary Donovan for spreading the word!