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After more than seven years of fighting crime and helping to save lives in Santa Barbara County, Sheriff’s K-9 Gango has retired from service.  During his impressive career, Gango tracked down a number of dangerous criminals including drug trafficking suspects, a carjacking suspect, as well as robbery and burglary suspects.  Gango has also assisted in locating lost children and people suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.  This past Monday, April 25, 2016, Sheriff Bill Brown presented Gango with a retirement certificate and a rawhide bone in appreciation of his years of valiant service to the Sheriff’s Office.

Gango, whose full name is Gango Vom Salztalblick was born in Hesse, Germany in January, 2007.  He had three brothers and two sisters, all with names that began with the letter “G”.  Both of his parents and all of his grandparents were Schutzhund 3 dogs (which is the highest level sports agility dog) with advanced tracking degrees.  After completing basic patrol school, Gango was placed into service at approximately 20 months of age.  In 2009, he joined the ranks of the Sheriff’s Office and was partnered with Senior Deputy Patrick Hayes.  The two trained together, worked together, and have lived together ever since. 

Upon reflecting on the bond he shares with Gango, Sr. Deputy Hayes said, “As the saying goes, ‘Dogs are a man’s best friend,’ but Gango has far exceeded that. He has always had my back and because of the tight bond that we share, in a split second, without any reservation he would give his life to protect mine. Gango truly has loved his career in law enforcement as much as I am enjoying mine.”  

Gango is a certified patrol canine with additional certifications in explosive detection and hard surface tracking.  A highlight of Gango’s career was when he helped locate a deaf teenager who had not come home from a bike ride in her neighborhood.  Gango was able to track her scent from a bicycle helmet and shoes.  He located her in the dark, alone and frightened.  In another notable case, he sniffed out a handgun that was fired in the commission of a crime in a small compartment hidden underneath a vehicle.

Due to Gango’s specific training in bomb detection, he has been utilized to investigate bomb threats in various schools and buildings throughout Santa Barbara County.  He has also assisted with a large number of dignitary details.  He has searched banquet theatres, hotel rooms, motorcades, aircraft and watercraft.  He traveled to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and assisted in multiple Republican National Presidential Debates and Military Readiness Forums.  Gango has met a number of dignitaries including the Dalai Lama, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, the Clintons, former first lady Nancy Reagan, and most recently former first lady Laura Bush.

During his years of service, Gango has done countless demonstrations for school and community events throughout Santa Barbara County.

At home, Gango enjoys family time and just being a regular dog running around chasing toys and being the protector of his 11-month-old sister, Madison.  He will continue to live with the Hayes family for his retirement years. 

The Sheriff’s Office is in the process of purchasing another K-9 to join the Sheriff’s Office family.