Leesburg Police Department Excels During 2025 Iron Dog Competition

The Leesburg Police Department walked away last week from the annual Iron Dog Competition with several top placements.

The competition, held at Kettle Run Highschool in Nokesville, saw the dogs compete in a 1.5-mile course dotted with stations designed to test the strength, stamina, and teamwork of both handlers and their canine partners. The dogs were set to do suspect searches, odor detection, agility challenges and apprehension exercises. Leesburg PD’s four dedicated K-9 teams comprise the Canine Unit, which brought home several top placements in the competition.

Senior Police Officer L. Brickley and K-9 Elmore won first place in and top narcotics article search and took second place in narcotics detection/ vehicle sniff. First class Lieutenant Weible-Gallupe and K-9 Iris won first place in narcotics detection carousel search and second place in top narcotics K-9.

Senior Police Officer J. Sullivan and K-9 Dan took home second place in narcotics detection/ box search and Senior Police Officer P. Kidd and K-9 Riley took third place in explosives detection/ box search.

The annual event, organized by the Fauquier K-9 and Community Organization in conjunction with the Virginia Police Canine Association featured 35 law enforcement K-9 teams across Virginia and the Washington D.C. area.

“The remarkable achievements of our K-9 units at the Iron Dog Competition underscore their tireless dedication, and it highlights the strong bond between officers and their canine partners,” Deputy Chief of Police Vanessa Grigsby said. “Their success is a testament to the hard work and training they undertake daily to ensure the safety and security of our community.”