San Ramon Police Department Welcomes New Police Canine

SAN RAMON – Police welcomed their newest four-legged officer to the department last month.

Hailing from the Netherlands, San Ramon’s new canine, Blix, is an 20-month-old Belgian Malinois whose commands are given in Dutch.

Blix and his handler, SRPD Officer Gonzalez, recently finished a four week (160 hour) training course before being certified for deployment on patrol.

Officer Gonzalez has almost 15 years of law enforcement under his belt, with 8 of those years spent in San Ramon. It’s Officer Gonzalez’s first time as a canine handler.

According to Police Lieutenant Denton Carlson, Blix is replacing another SRPD canine (Bongo) who recently retired from patrol duties due to a back injury.

* Edited at 11:06 am on April 28, 2017 to reflect Blix’s actual age.