Bellingham police and Whatcom County sheriff’s deputies have a new tool to fight the opioid epidemic — Washington state’s first dogs that are trained to find fentanyl.
Six K9 teams from four law enforcement agencies passed a training class that was held Sept. 15 in Marysville, according to a joint statement issued Friday by the Bellingham Police Department and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
They are among the first dogs in the state to be certified under the Criminal Justice Training Commission, the statement said.
“The certification of our canine units is part of our ongoing efforts to battle the opioid epidemic and promote public safety,” Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell “Tank” Tanksley said.
“We are proud to be among the pioneers in meeting these new standards and look forward to seeing the results as we add this capability.”
Tanklsey requested such a dog in July because of a drug problem at the Whatcom County Jail, but he thought is could take a long time.
“I am proud of all our regional K-9 handlers and their partners for getting certified so quickly under this new legislation. I have no doubt their work will save lives in our community,” Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig said.
Friday’s announcement comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a “sudden” nationwide drop in overdose deaths this week, according to National Pubic Radio.
Bellingham and Whatcom County are seeing an uptick in overdoses after a recent decline, local officials told The Bellingham Herald this week.
Opioid overdoses hit a 2024 peak of 61 in May but then dropped steadily in June, July and August, when 10 were reported, according to the Whatcom Overdose Prevention website. Drug overdoses of all kinds have also declining since a peak of 84 in may to 31 in June.
Overdose deaths of all kinds jumped 43% to 137 last year. There were 71 overdose deaths through August this year.
A decline in overdose deaths doesn’t necessarily translate to a decline in overdoses, officials told The Herald.
“Though we are tracking suspected overdose EMS calls to the Bellingham Fire Department’s jurisdiction, I wouldn’t say we see a clear trend this year. While the numbers had been trending downward — we’re on the rise this month (34 total in August in the BFD service area, 44 in the first 17 days of September),” Fire Chief Bill Hewett said in an email.
Officials at the Whatcom County Department of Health and Community Services said they don’t have any specific insights on what may be driving changes in local overdose death rates, spokesman Ron Warner told The Herald.
“But we are seeing an increase in efforts to combat opioid overdose. Collaboration between local agencies, community providers, and emergency services has expanded, and more individuals are being connected to treatment services and receiving medication-assisted treatment through healthcare providers,” Warner said in an email
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu told The Herald that is was too soon to make any conclusions.
“What we do know is that the numbers are still far too high, and we need to continue to combat opioid addiction and all the factors which contributing to this crisis. I believe that the efforts led by Whatcom County Health and Community Services in collaboration with many other partners are having a meaningful and positive impact,” Sidhu said.
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