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Updated on November 12, 2019 at 3:39 pm by Sgt. William Bailey
After thousands of name suggestions and over 2600 votes on the twenty top names, Copper has been selected has our new K9’s official name. Copper came out at the top with 870 voters selecting it as their favorite name. Many that suggested the name Copper referenced the movie Fox and the Hound as inspiring their name selection. Other community members recommended this name based on the color of his fur. Additionally, the name could also refer the slang term “Cop” being short for Copper, which is said to originate from the copper buttons that officers once wore on their uniforms.
We would like to thank everyone that helped us with the naming process. It is very apparent to us that our community loves our newest K9 and everyone is looking forward to his many years of service to the citizens and visitors of Deschutes County.
K9 Copper and his partner Deputy Donny Patterson will be in California this week, where they will begin their training together.
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Released by: Sergeant William Bailey - Public Information Officer
Release Date: November 4, 2019
NARRATIVE:
Today, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is excited to introduce our newest K9. The fifteen-week-old Bloodhound was donated to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office by Tamaron Ranch Bloodhounds in September. Since then, a process occurred to identify and select a handler for him. Deputy Donny Patterson, a twelve-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, was recently selected to be that partner. They officially became partners on Halloween and both will head to Riverside, California next week to begin the training and certification process.
As our Bloodhound does not have a name yet, we are asking for name suggestions from the community. If you have a name idea related to law enforcement, please visit our Facebook page where you will find a post to submit your name suggestion(s). The most popular names will be put to a vote later this week for final selection and official naming. You can visit our agency Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/DeschutesCountySheriff/
Tamara Thomas, the owner of Tamaron Ranch Bloodhounds in Chowchilla, CA, said, “We just love that we are able to donate one of our dogs to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, where he will be utilized to search and locate missing people. This bloodhound will be an incredible addition to the Sheriff’s Office K9 program.”
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office would like to give a special thank you to Tamaron Ranch Bloodhounds for their generous donation, but also to the founder and owner of Whistles for Life, Bob Cameron, for coordinating this very special new member of the Sheriff’s Office.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with four K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves the nearly 190,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 230 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 187 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.
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