Police K-9 units from across the country train in Kingston

Published on March 31, 2026

WEST PARK – K9 teams, primarily from the East Coast from as far south as Miami, Fla., started two days of training Friday at locations in Ulster County to help prepare better them for actual law enforcement field work.

“We have been in Maryland for about five years, and we wanted to change our dynamics a little bit. So we were able to reach a new dynamic handlers up north, and so that was our main goal,” said Carol Skaziak, founder of the Throw Away Dog Project, which partnered with Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, Ulster County K9 Training Group and the K9 Law & Order Group 2026.

K9 teams from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office had attended the Maryland training before it was moved here for the last Friday and Saturday of March.

Skaziak spoke about the training at the former West Park school, which was a training area along the former JC Penney store at the Hudson Valley Mall.

Saturday’s scenarios will be conducted a Charles Rider Park, where training will be conducted on a boat. Training will also be conducted Saturday at the Ulster County Public Safety Training Center with K9 and SWAT teams.

“The most important part of the learning is that we create scenario equations that test the ability not only for the dog, but also for the handler to work together as a team and to solve problems together,” said Kyle Frano, head K9 trainer for the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department. “We’re doing everything from patrol scenarios, tracking scenarios and detection for narcotics and explosives.”

Disturbing the comfort zones of these teams is also part of training, and that’s a challenge they are facing with these scenarios.

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