About 20 K-9 unit teams converged on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus Tuesday to train for situations they hope they’ll never face.

Agencies like the police departments for Little Rock, Jonesboro and Dallas, Texas, simulated searching for explosives during a training and certification session at UALR’s South Hall.

For the exercise, dogs and their handlers practiced clearing an area of simulated explosives within a set amount of time.

The purpose of the session was to keep K-9 teams up-to-date on their training and to certify new units, said Regina Carter, chief of the UALR Police Department.

It also was a cooperative activity that helped agencies  — including UALR’s Police Department — prepare to work together should a serious incident occur in the region, Carter said.

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