Join JaxReady Preparedness Puppy Cricket, Jacksonville Sherrif's Office, and Duval County School Police as they teach you about the different types canine first responders active in our community. They will be on site to demonstrate their abilities and meet new friends too!
About Cricket:
Cricket, born in Old Lyme, Connecticut, on August 10th, 2018, was picked up by her handler on October 10th of the same year, marking the beginning of their journey together. Early on, Cricket began her training in obedience and agility. Once she mastered that, she embarked on training to imprint on live human scent with the hope of one day saving lives in various emergency scenarios.
Her hard work paid off, and on June 17, 2021, Cricket achieved her FEA equivalent CE Live Find certification, officially joining the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department as well as Florida Task Force 5. Just eight days later, she deployed to the Champlain Towers South building collapse in Surfside, Florida. Since then, she has been deployed to various disaster situations, including Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Idalia, a local parking garage collapse, and numerous local missing persons events (MEPSAR).
Despite her affectionate nature, Cricket maintains an incredible focus when it's time to work, ensuring she completes her tasks diligently. She loves playing with her favorite toy, a soft frisbee made by Chuckit, and enjoys showing off her tricks, such as "stop, drop, and roll," during fire safety lectures for children and emergency preparedness events, where she serves as the
mascot for JaxReady.
About Maverick:
K9 Maverick was born on April 16, 2021, in Huntsville, Alabama. He was donated to the Duval County School Police Department by Limitless K9s on March 17, 2023. K9 Maverick obtained his National Police Canine Association certificate on April 24, 2023, making him the first local agency Firearm Detection Canine in Northeast Florida. K9 Maverick and his handler, Officer J. Baker, spend their days conducting random searches of schools, responding to calls involving weapons or threats, assisting other agencies with searches, and educational presentations to elementary schools. K9 Maverick is highly intelligent, extremely energetic, and even enjoys sitting in chairs to be like his fellow officers K9 Maverick is incredibly focused when conducting searches to keep our students, staff and facilities safe.
About Ruger
Ofc. J. J. Mulhearn #81351
I have been employed by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for over 5 years and joined the K9 unit 9 months ago. Before I was in the canine unit I worked in the area of Northwest Jacksonville. My police canine’s name is Ruger, and he is a 7-year-old Golden Retriever. Ruger is a missing person tracking/narcotics detection dog. While working together, we have successfully removed illegal drugs and firearms from the streets and found a missing runaway child so he could be reunited with his family. We also visit schools and hospitals to demonstrate a positive influence on our future generations. Ruger loves to play and to get rewarded with treats, but his favorite thing is to receive belly rubs from all the kids he comes in contact with!