Sheriff Vance Norton is taking on more new recruits with very special skill sets. The Sheriff’s Office recently welcomed Arias, their first explosives trained dog. Arias is a dual purpose Belgian Malinois that is training for explosives, apprehension and tracking. “Having an explosives dog is for more than just bombs,” shares Lt. Brian Fletcher. “Arias will also be for weapon and casing retrieval or anything related to firearms. If we are looking for a gun in an area we can utilize the dog to find it.” Arias will complete 3 weeks of training this month and 3 weeks of training in January. The Sheriff’s Office has a second new recruit on its way in the form of a German Shepherd named Bentley. Bentley has been donated by a professional dog trainer to be used specifically in the Uintah County Jail. Bentley is trained for retrieval of narcotics and jail related contraband. “This dog will be a big asset in the jail as things evolve and people find new ways to try to introduce new items into the jail,” explains Fletcher. “Bentley will be trained to find those.”
