GRAND FORKS — A new pup in training for the North Dakota Highway Patrol is seeing some popularity on social media since he joined the force in March. His stardom has earned him a photo in a nationwide cruiser calendar contest.
His handler, Trooper Nevon Heisler, said it’s a good way of letting more people know about the man-trailing K-9 program the NDHP has at its disposal, led by bloodhounds.
“The best part about him is, he’s bringing the knowledge of the bloodhound program way up,” he said. “He definitely likes the attention.”
K-9 Gary, who just turned 6 months old on Monday, July 7, is a bloodhound puppy in training to be part of the man-trailing program. He is also now the star of a photo NDHP submitted to the “Best Looking Cruiser” contest held by the American Association of State Troopers. Patrols from across the 50 states submit photos of their cruisers, which are then voted on. The top 13 photos are placed in a calendar that can then be purchased from the association.
To Heisler’s knowledge, North Dakota has never made it into the calendar, but Gary’s appearance in the state’s photo has already led to an influx of votes. In the photo, Gary sits beside Heisler’s cruiser, posed on the University of North Dakota campus. North Dakota shot up to ninth place soon after voting began, and as of Tuesday, July 9, sits at the 15th spot with 5,048 votes. Voting closes the afternoon of July 11.
Heisler received Gary officially toward the end of March after picking him from a litter in Mississippi from a breeder, who usually breeds dogs for show, he said. NDHP tested the puppies on their fearlessness and independence, and immediately noticed Gary.
“He has to be very independent,” he said. “We want a dog that wants to please us, but we also want a dog to say, ‘no, this is where I’m supposed to go,’ because it gets really hard in the trees and stuff.
When he’s ready, Gary will be used to trail both missing people and criminals who have fled. The trailing bloodhounds use specific, unique scents that fall off people’s bodies, called “skin rafts,” Heisler said. The dogs in the program can trail people days after they have passed through an area. Heisler has different commands that include smelling an object to pick the scent, trail and pause, among others. All his commands are spoken in Dutch, to ensure he doesn’t repeat the words on a trail. Heisler covers about 50% of the state, focused on the west side. The two other bloodhounds cover the west.
Large-chested breeds like bloodhounds are chosen for their stamina on long trails, as well as for their smelling abilities and the long ears that help waft scents toward their noses. However, it will be a number of months before Gary is ready to begin his work officially.
“November, maybe, if we’re lucky,” Heisler said. “He’s literally a baby. … He gets into everything, just like a puppy.”
Gary is still a puppy, he said, and is in the process of training. Some of that involves going on practice trails and exposing him to things like vehicles, bikes and four-wheelers to get him used to them, as bloodhounds are naturally skittish. Heisler said he likes taking Gary to different places, and names The Listen Center in Grand Forks as the best spot.
“I can go there any time I want,” he said. “It’s so hot out, he lays on their tile floor and they’re just, like, mobbing him. … He gets to see everyone in wheelchairs, you know, stuff that would spook him, you know?”
Heisler has been in the program since 2023, starting his career at the NDHP in 2014. He has previous experience with now-retired K9 Judge, and he said not many people realize the trailing program is available to them. He said Gary’s social media presence has made the program more visible.
“We’ve had it in the highway patrol for 12, 13 years now and it’s not well known,” he said. “People would call after they exhaust everything. Seven days later, you know, you’re stretching it.”
The “Best Looking Cruiser” contest voting page is available at
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