Detector Dog Kernul

Kernul

Sacramento County

Kernul is a Chocolate Lab that began his training in 2018 as an Agricultural Detection K9 at National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, Georgia. He was soon partnered with Sacramento County Agriculture inspector Michelle King.

Kernul worked for 7 years in Sacramento County protecting California Agriculture by visiting shipping terminals (FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.), where he used his nose to sniff out and alert on unmarked packages containing Agricultural products (flowers, produce, plants, seeds, soil, etc.).

Some of his most notable achievements are-

• Actionable Pests: Citrus Black Fly, South American Fruit Fly, Asian Needle Ant, Caribbean Fruit Fly, Yellow-shelled Semi-slug, Peacock mite, Redbanded thrips, Compact Carpenter Ant, Tramp Ant (AKA little fire ant), Root knot nematode, Reniform nematode, Avocado whitefly, and several species of scale & mealybugs on fruit and plants.
• Disease: Avocado Scab, Sweet Orange Scab, Citrus Canker, Japanese Apple Rust
• Noxious Weeds: Canyon dodder, Chickenweed
• Restricted Aquatic Plants: Watermilfoil, Water lettuce, Brazilian waterweed
• Restricted animal species: Florida Snapping Turtles, Alligator Snapping Turle, Piranha, Pike, Tilapia, and others.

In short, Kernul has detected roughly 35,000 Ag parcels, with more than 600 live insects, 460 were invasive.

After his retirement on December 31, 2025, Kernul was adopted by his handler, Michelle.

Kernul is sensitive, very sweet, aims to please and works hard for treats. He loves snuggling, swimming, jogging, and playing ball.