Page 20 - 2022 A Year in Review Final

In early 2022, K-9’s Blesk and Lex were fully retired after many

years of dedicated service to the city. Sgt. Bruno and K9 Zeus

continued to serve as a team and are still actively participating

in any assignment where their services are needed. In April of

2022, K-9 Officers O'Donnell and Bagshaw traveled to

Sharpsville, PA (Shallow Creak Kennels) where they evaluated

and tested many possible candidates to replace Blesk and Lex. After a thorough

evaluation process, they acquired Czar, an 11-month-old Czech Shepherd, and Ryken,

a 15-month-old Hungarian Shepherd.

Along with K-9 master trainers

from the Rhode Island Department

of Corrections, Officers Bagshaw

and O’Donnell began immediately

training Czar and Ryken. The K-9's

and their handlers completed an

18-week patrol and narcotics

detection school. Additionally, in

August, they achieved national certification from the North American Police Work Dog

Association (NAPWDA).

In September the Cranston Police Department suffered the untimely loss of K-9 Lex.

Lex faithfully served the City of Cranston from July 2015, until his retirement in April

of 2022. Lex was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half prior to his passing, and

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Cranston Police Department Year in Review 2022