Pasadena Police Department Adds First Tracking K-9

The department has introduced a Labrador retriever trained to find missing individuals and suspects.

Updated on Oct. 15, 2026 in Law Enforcement

Pasadena Police Department Adds First Tracking K-9

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The Pasadena Police Department officially added Seeka, a 2-year-old female Labrador retriever, to its force as its first dedicated tracking dog. The K-9 will assist officers in locating critically missing persons and potentially tracking fleeing suspects.

Why it matters

The addition of this specialized K-9 provides a new resource for locating vulnerable individuals in a city where such cases occur every few months. By following a human scent, the dog offers a capability the department previously lacked for emergency search operations.

Seeka is a 2-year-old Labrador retriever that earned certification as a tracking K-9. The department handles cases involving critically missing people approximately every couple of months.

The players

Seeka

She is a 2-year-old female Labrador retriever who serves as the first tracking dog for the Pasadena Police Department.

Daniel Velasquez

He is a police officer with 18 years of total law enforcement experience who serves as Seeka's dedicated handler.

Pasadena Police Foundation

This organization provided the necessary donations to allow the department to acquire and train its first tracking K-9.

The details

Acquired through donations from the Pasadena Police Foundation, the dog has undergone specific training to follow human scents and discover those in need of help. Officer Daniel Velasquez, who joined the department in 2016 and has 18 years of total police experience, serves as the dog's handler.

October 15, 2026: Seeka officially joined the Pasadena Police Department force.

Legal Context

The introduction of a specialized tracking K-9 marks a departure from the department's historical reliance on manual search efforts. This addition aligns with broader trends in municipal law enforcement to integrate animal-assisted tracking into missing persons protocols.

Residents may see Seeka during search operations involving missing persons or in instances where police track suspects. The deployment of this K-9 is intended to increase the efficiency of finding individuals in need of urgent assistance.

The takeaway

The deployment of a trained tracking dog provides the city with a vital new tool for emergency search and rescue efforts. Handlers and community members expect this addition to significantly reduce the time needed to locate vulnerable people in the area.