Sheriff’s Office Adds K-9 ‘Duke’

Duke has become the fourth dog in the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s K-9 unit, a German shepherd trained for scent, searches, protection, and apprehension. He’s paired up with Deputy Brian Scott, who calls Duke a personable dog with high drive: “He has an amazing ability to know when it is time to work and time to play.” Training in bomb detection and hard-surface tracking lie ahead for the new recruit. Born in Germany, Duke was purchased at the Inglis Police Dog Academy in Oxnard with funds from the Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse and also the Duca family of Carpinteria. Christine Duca said they picked the name “Duke” after her husband’s nickname. They donated generously to the program after a K-9 team sniffed out two fugitives hiding under their Carpinteria house in 2017.