Past Employee of the Month 2019 and Before
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as Employee of the Month not for finding live bed bugs (although he has), Bugsy is being recognized for simply being an exceptional employee. Its been a year since Bugsy was sprung from jail (Richmond SCPA), rehabbed, undergone intense counseling, and began his bed bug detection training. Bugsy has made a 180 degree change in his life, he has become gregarious and most important a very reliable employee. Bugsy searches his heart out, he is methodical and diligent and works long hours with out complaint or slowing down. Busy enjoys having the best of both worlds, a challenging job and the spoils of home life. Although Bugsy was given the guidance and tools to help him make this 180 degree change, it was his decision that this is a better way of life than his former thug life on the mean streets of Richmond, VA, Bugsy throws himself 100% into working life and embraces every challenge presented to him. Elite K9 could not ask for a better employee than K9 Bugsy.
March 2016
February 2016
K9 Jagger is being recognized as Employee of the Month for finding live a bed bug on 2/2/2016. On a post treatment residential inspection, Jagger's human handler could not find any live bed bugs and thought the room was clear...but Jagger and his keen German Shepherd nose proved her wrong! He found a beg bug in a deep crack that no human would have seen. Jagger once again reminded the humans on the talents of a WDDO.org certified bed bug detection K9 and why they are a valuable tool in bed bug management.
K9 Duchess is being recognized as Employee of the Month not for finding live bed bugs, but for being incredibly cute and an avid student. Duchess is learning fast. She knows all her basic obedience and is moving on to higher levels. Duchess thoroughly understands the bed bug order she is searching for and will continuing her scent detection training. She will begin room searches in May. .
April 2016
K9 Jagger is being recognized as Employee of the Month for finding ONE bed bug in a small crack in a twin bed frame. The studio unit had been chemically treated many times before but the occupant kept receiving bites. First we inspected the mattress that was fitted with a mattress encasement and found nothing. Then we lifted the mattress so Jagger could have full access to inspect the wood frame and sure enough he alerted strong and true. I removed the wood slat and sure enough there was a little bed bug hiding under the wood slat.
May 2016
July 2016
Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for finding ONE bed bug in the folds of a bed skirt. The residents had just moved in and apparently brought an extra 'guest' with them. The handler cleared the room visually and then sent Busy around to do his portion of the job. Much to her surprise, Bugsy alerted. She curiously pulled the folds of the bed skirt at the corner of the box spring and low and behold, a live bed bug! Good Job Bugsy.
Nov 2nd - 5th 2016
Nov 2016
Elite K9 Bed Bug Hunters announces its new employee, K9 Duchess. She passed her World Detector Dog Organization Bed Bug certification test on Nov 3rd 2016 in Virginia Beach. Welcome K9 Duchess to the world of the employed.
All the K9 employees are being recognized as employee of the month for their exceptional work at the WDDO Training Seminar and Certification Nov 2nd - 5th. All three dogs passed both their test to be Certified as Bed Bug Detection Dogs for the 2016-2017 year.
Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for finding ONE bed bug on the caster wheel of a hospital bed side table. Despite the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital with all the noise and unfamiliar smells and doctors and nurses looking on, Bugsy worked with dedication and focus. We are so proud of Bugsy.
Dec 2016
2017 Employee of the Month
K9 Jagger is being recognized as employee of the month for alerting on a senior citizen's bed that we humans could not find anything. He was very insistent that he found bed bugs. So, we took the bed apart and still could not find any bed bugs. We made arrangements to recheck the residential unit in another week. One week later, we found a few bed bugs. Jagger was right.
'Trust Your Dog' - David Latimer
Jan 2017
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for alerting on bed bugs that were 10' up in a tall window's curtains. Bugsy worked the commercial business room and swept back and forth in the back area near the curtains, he was clearly looking for the source of the scent but could not locate the strongest source. Bugsy stood up on his hind legs and air scented. At that time his handler turned to the pest control company and stated that Bugsy says there are bed bugs here. With in a few minutes bed begs were found high up on the curtain. Bugsy got his own Hamburger Happy Meal that day.
Disciplinary Action Feb 2017 Employee Write Up
K9 Jagger was verbally reprimanded and written up in Feb for opening a hotel door and sneaking out for an attempted night on the town. Worse was that he cajoled his younger, more impressionable brother Bugsy, to join him. The Elite K9 team was working a large luxury apartment complex in North Carolina and had to stay overnight in a hotel since it was a two day job. The handler had left Bugsy and Jagger in the hotel room while she took another dog for a walk to blow off some energy. When she returned, the hotel door was wide open and both fur-employees were gone. Naturally she panicked. Fortunately she was able to locate them quickly at the convenience store up the street trying to boost beer as neither of them had ID to purchase legally. After changing her pants, the K9 handler called the HR dept where Jagger and Bugsy were promptly interrogated as to their actions. During Bugsy's interview with the HR dept he confessed that Jagger did indeed open the horizontal door handle with his nose and that it sounded like fun at first, but he quickly regretted it when he realized how dark outside it was and that he did not know the area. Jagger refused to accept responsibility on the matter and has vowed that 'no door handle can hold him back from an adventure'. HR dept felt that there was no other recourse than to issue a verbal warning and write Jagger up, which will remain in his employment records until his retirement. The k9 handler was not disciplined and she was quoted as saying 'that she will never fall for Jagger's little trick again'.
Feb 2017
March 2017
Elite K9 would like to introduce its newest employee. HUNTER. Hunter is a field bred English Springer Spaniel. She was acquired at 2 month old and is now 4 month old. Hunter comes from a long heritage of champion and title hunting dogs. Hunter is leaning her basic obedience and has started her scent training, Elite K9 anticipates her being ready to test for her Certification in Nov 2017
April 2017
Little HUNTER is employee of the month. Although she is not so little anymore. Hunter is 5 months old and has fully embraced her bed bug detection training. Hunter is more than on target scent, little Hunter is searching beds and dressers. She is currently learning search patterns. Elite K9 is very excited by the talent this little dynamo is showing.
Employee of the Month June 2017
Jagger is June’s Employee of the Month for kicking ass on the job. In the same day, at 2 separate non-related residences, doing Post Bed Bug Treatment Inspection Jagger found ONE bed bug in the carpet at the baseboard at each residence. We are very proud of this old guy and will miss his talented nose when he retires at the end of 2017.
June 2017
K9 Bugsy and K9 Jagger are both being recognized as employee(s) of the month for all their hard work over the last, very busy, three months. Both K9's have worked with commitment and diligence. Some notable highlights include K9 Bugsy alerting on live bed bugs his handler could not find on visual inspection in a dorm room. K9 Bugsy alerting on ONE live bed bug hiding in screw hole underneath a wood bed frame on a Post-treatment inspection. K9 Jagger alerting on live bed bugs in a couch, that the handler could not find due to that couch was the same brown color of bed bugs that were expertly camouflaged. The K9s are finishing up a very large job and have 2 more weeks before they see a day off. After the large job is done, they will receive a much needed break, several days off lounging around the house, afternoon snacks, hikes, long tummy rubs, digging holes, rough housing and squabbling with each other.
July and August 2017
With devastating sadness Elite K9 has to share that K9 Jagger was humanly euthanized Nov 6th 2017. He went into severe respiratory distress and a chest xray showed metastasized lung cancer. We are devastated, We are heartbroken, we are empty and lost..........we are grateful to him for all he has done for me, a debt I can never repay. Rest easy K9, job well done.
Nov 2017
Bugsy continues to be an outstanding employee with numerous finds of 3 or less bed bugs. Most notably this month, He has found two bed bugs between a baseboard and carpet in a vacant apartment.
Sept and Oct 2017
2016 Employee of the Month
Hunter is being recognized as employee of the month for finding one bed bug and some eggs in a screw hole of an old wooden bed. They were harboring in an area of the bed that humans could not get to with dismantling the bed. K9 Hunter is doing well in first months of employment as a working K9. She trembles with excitement when she is lining up to begin a search.
Feb 2018
Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for finding One live bed bug among dead bed bugs and bed bug shells in a living facility that was cleared by pest control humans 10 minutes prior to K9 Bugsy's search. His talent continues to amaze us.
March 2018
K9 Terry...I mean handler, inspector, administrator, sales, accounting, HR admin, K9 trainer, and chauffeur, a measly human being, with a useless nose, 'Terry', is being recognized as employee of the month for putting in the long hours doing all of the above.
June 2018
Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for carrying the majority of the work load. With the devastating loss of K9 Jagger and K9 Hunter learning the ropes, Bugsy has stepped up the plate is leading the team into 2018 with his little thug mentality, strong work ethic and amazing little nose that already has done amazing finds of one or two bed bugs.
Jan 2018
K9 Hunter is being recognized as employee of the month(s) for putting in the long hours needed to become a seasoned professional bed bug dog. She is regularly completing bed bug inspections for 25+ senior living units and apartments weekly. K9 Hunter is maturing and embracing a working life, from getting up early and long drives to the job site, to waiting "some what" patiently in her crate for her turn to work, to getting over her initial youth excitement and settling into the serious business of finding bed bugs. The routine life as an employed bed bug dog suits her 'high drive need to use her nose' breeding. And when Hunter gets home from a long day of work, she plays hard and then sleeps hard.
April and May 2018
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for carrying the workload during these broiling hot summer days. It is not safe to bring the whole team for each job and thus the majority of the workload lands on K9 Bugsy's 20lbs shoulders.
K9 Bugsy is a savvy worker and knows to rest up in his padded crate as he is driven to the next job. We make sure he has cold water in his water bowl and the AC vents are blowing on him so he can cool down between jobs.
K9 inspections during the hot summer season is hard work and Bugsy excels under the pressure. In early part of July K9 Bugsy found bed bugs in the carpet next to the baseboard on a Post-Treatment inspection in two separate non-related apartments.
July and August 2018
K9 Hunter is being recognized as employee of the month for completeing a k9 bed bug search through out a large lobby and seating area with a blaring fire alarm and emergency flashing light. The fire alarm was a false alarm so there was no danger but neither was the alarm shut down quickly, so Hunter's handler took this an excellent opportunity to expand on Hunter's feild experience and continue with the search. Hunter did amazing, she worked with concentration like there was not red and white strobe lights flashing and a fire bell loudly blaring.
Oct 2018
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for finding ONE bed bug on the last piece of furniture searched in the last room of the post-treatment inspection. The pest control company and the handler thought they had just cleared the house, all the bed bugs were gone But on the last sectional piece of a couch to be checked, Bugsy alerted to the side arm of the sectional. Handler and pest control looked at each other in surprise, then checked where K9 Bugsy was alerting, sure enough, there was a bed bug in the zipper folds. Good Job K9 Bugsy!
Sept 2018
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for finding bed bugs the handler could not find. While doing a routine k9 bed bug inspection on 20 units in a senior living community, the handler did her visual inspection and could not find any bed bugs. Next was Bugsy’s turn and he alerted at the head of the bed. The handler pulled the bed away from the wall and to her surprise, there was two bed bugs between the wall and mattress. Besides for these two bed bugs, there was no visual evidence of their presence. K9 Bugsy once again showed his 20 lb super powers.
Nov 2018
K9 Hunter is being recognized as employee of the month for doing her job! She was in an senior living apartment that had been treated for known bed bug activity. Once the mattress was lifted and inspected K9 Hunter swept the wood bed frame and wood slats, she alerted at the foot of the bed. Upon her alert the wood slats were unscrewed and lifted....bed bugs suddenly exposed to light went scrambling. Thanks to K9 Hunter we did not have to disassemble the bed to find the survivors from the treatment, Good Girl K9 Hunter!!!
Dec 2018
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as Employee of the YEAR!!!
K9 Bugsy has a track record of finding the bed bugs us humans cannot find but he saved the best find of 2018 for the last month to help him cinch the 2018 Employee of the Year award. K9 Bugsy was working a large commercial building with hundreds of cubicles where they had been treating for bed bugs but kept finding them after treatment. Their pest control company told them it was time to bring the K9. We started with the area with the most frequent sighting and K9 Bugsy found a harborage of live and active bed bugs between a cubicle wall and the office wall. Human would have had to dismantle 20 plus cubicles to do a visual inspection. With K9 Bugsy’s help we were able to narrow the area to be disassemble and treated down to two cubicles. This 20lb "full of attitude and snuggles' terrier mix is just a wonder dog of hard working K9 aptitude.
2018 Employee of the Month
K9 Hunter and K9 Bugsy both deserve Employee of the Month for the first two months of 2019. This year started with a bang and the k9 teams worked every Saturday in Jan. doing large volume office spaces. The K9 team inspected no less than 600 cubicles and offices over the course of Jan and Feb...and the K9s found bed bugs.
Jan and Feb 2019
K9 Hunter is being recognized as employee of the month for once again doing her job! She was in an senior living apartment that had been treated for known bed bug activity. Once the mattress was lifted up, K9 Hunter swept the wood bed frame and wood slats, she alerted at the foot of the bed. Upon her alert those wood slats were unscrewed and lifted....bed bugs suddenly exposed to light went scrambling. Thanks to K9 Hunter we did not have to disassemble each peice of the bed to find the survivors from the treatment, Good Girl K9 Hunter!!!
March 2019
K9 Hunter and K9 Bugsy continue to work as an efficient team completing 157 apartments in two days. These were slow and detailed k9 inspections in each unit so the facility could know exactly which apartment had bed bugs. K9 Hunter and K9 Bugsy are being recognized as employee(s) of the month, once again, for their stamina and team work. Team work makes the dream work.
April and May 2019
K9 Hunter is being recognized as employee of the month for finding ONE bed bug on a couch. The Handler and a pest control technician turned the couch on it's side to do a visual for a post treatment inspection. They found only dead bed bugs and shells. K9 Hunter was deployed to ensure the lack of finding by the humans was correct. K9 Hunter ran her nose only half way the couch before she stopped and quickly alerted. The technician got on his knees and looked again and there was one bed bug tucked under the piping. We are so proud of her. Good Girl K9 Hunter!!!
Nov 2019
K9 Bugsy is being recognized as employee of the month for finding bed bugs in a recliner chair that the handler and pest control technician could not locate. The team was searching a memory care facility whom recently experienced an outbreak of bed bug activity in several rooms. The pest control treated all the rooms and the K9's job was to make sure there were no survivors. And K9 Bugsy did his job like a pro. The recliner chair was in a room thought to be clear and free of bed bugs but K9 Bugsy knew better. It took the humans 10 minutes to find what K9 Bugsy smelt in 25 seconds.
Sept 2019
2019 Employee of the Month
