Printable Fact Sheet (PDF)
About our K-9:
Name: Lucca
Breed: Black German Shepard
Date of Birth: 04/14/2005
Sex: Male
Weight: 80 lbs.
Date K-9 Certified: September 2006
Handler: Kathy Zavakos-Rocha
About our K-9 Team
Kathy and Lucca graduated on September 5, 2006. They trained in Loveland and Greeley, Colorado for eight weeks at the Loveland Police Department’s obstacle course and North Colorado Medical Center, a Banner Health facility.
Kathy and Lucca are the first K-9 team to work in a Colorado hospital. The team is currently trained in search techniques, crowd control, bomb detection, apprehension and master protection.
“Lucca is an amazing dog—smart, dependable, friendly and a very fast learner”, said Zavakos-Rocha. “It is rewarding to work with Lucca knowing he has this wonderful personality and skills, yet is capable of defending anybody or assisting with a difficult situation.” The biggest challenge is finding new ways of doing things so Lucca doesn’t get bored.
Officer Kathy Zavakos-Rocha has an experienced background with dogs. She has bred, raised, trained and shown dogs for over 20 years and enjoys the style of training involved in the K9 program. Kathy’s expertise in dogs includes the following breeds: German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, Rottweilers, Malinois, Chows, Wolfs, and Corgies. Kathy was one of the members of the team, Academy for Law Enforcement K9, that specifically chose Lucca for NCMC in Holland.
Lucca enjoys working in the hospital as part of the security team and is a loyal partner and takes his commands in Dutch. When not working, he enjoys his time off by playing with other dogs and kids. Lucca also loves to jump on the trampoline with Kathy’s daughter.
Printable version (PDF) on K9 Etiquette
About the K-9 Program:
The Banner Health K-9 program currently includes 12 teams in Arizona and Colorado. All of our K-9’s are trained in police dog patrol; this includes suspect apprehension and master protection. Five of our teams are dual purpose; the dual purpose teams are trained in E.O.D. (Explosives Ordnance Detection).
In addition, all of our K-9 Teams go through further training so that they can properly adapt to the hospital setting. Our handlers go through an intense selection process, which includes oral board interviews and extensive background checks.
The handlers are not the only ones that go through an intense selection process. Our K-9’s must pass numerous tests including personality and courage prior to being selected for our program.
“The K9 team provides an additional alternative for security management and the overall safety of our patients, visitors and staff,” said Larry Whitted, Regional Director of Security. “We have very positive feedback from staff, patients, and visitors about the presence of our K9 team.” Just like a therapy dog, the K9 program also impacts the patients and visitors. Whitted added, “Lucca’s seems to provide a relaxed and reassuring presence while allowing people to focus for a time on something other than their medical situation.” In addition to the K9 unit NCMC has a 24-7 fully-staffed command center that monitors 215 cameras on campus, including a round-the-clock bike patrol division and mobile unit that patrols the hospital campus.
For more information on our program please e-mail our K-9 Handler or call (970) 378-4357.