|
Donations make drug dog for Mitchell County close to reality
This last week, the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office received two big donations towards their K-9 (drug sniffing dog) program. On July 11 Grain Miller's Inc. of St. Ansgar, donated $2,500 to the program and on July 14 the City of Osage donated an additional $2,000.
For the past eight months the Sheriff's Office has been actively seeking donations for this program. Through donations from individuals and businesses in Mitchell County, this program is finally becoming a reality. With the generous donations from Grain Miller's Inc. and the City of Osage it will finally give the Sheriff's Office enough money to purchase it's first ever police K-9 dog. The K-9 will be trained for narcotic detection, obedience, tracking, building searches, suspect apprehension and article recovery.
The Sheriff's Office would like to recognize and thank the individuals and businesses who have so far donated to the program; City of Osage, City of Carpenter, City of Riceville, City of St. Ansgar, Champion - Bucheit Funeral Home Inc., Osage Utilities, Osage Fire Department, A to Z Drying Inc., Jerry & LaDonna Gunderson, Ruth Patterson, Rita Smith, David & Judy Mayer, Joan Engebretson, Chris & Kelly Kimrey, Grain Miller's Inc., Omnitel Communications, L. R. Falk, Village Hardware Store, Cedar Veterinary Clinic, and Farmer's State Bank.
The Sheriff's Office is still looking for additional donations to help with the costs of the K-9. Money is still needed for training items and supplies for the K-9 before it's brought to Mitchell County. If anyone is interested in donating to the K-9 program, please make contact with the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office or call 732-4740.
In an interview with Mitchell County Deputy Gregg Halbach, the following information was provided concerning the K-9 program.
1. The money needed for the purchase of the dog and handler training for the K-9 program is $8500.
2. Hopefully the K-9 dog will be purchased by the end of August.
3. The dog will be trained in: Narcotic detection: K-9 will be able to detect 9 different kinds of drugs Obedience: K-9 will be trained to obey commands on and off leash. Tracking: K-9 will be able to track subjects who run from law enforcement or help find lost persons. Building Searches: K-9 will be able to search a building for hidden suspects. This will help reduce manpower time and injury to officers from the suspects. Suspect Apprehension: K-9 will be able to stop a fleeing felon by apprehending the felon by the arm. Article Recovery: K-9 will be trained to find items that a suspect might have dropped or thrown, which could include; guns, clothing, keys, etc.
4. The dog received its training at North Iowa K-9 LLC. in Humboldt, IA.
5. Deputy Gregg Halbach will be the dog's handler.
6. Halbach will attend a 120-hour training course at North Iowa K-9 LLC, with the K-9. The training is included in the purchase price of the K-9. The handler/dog teams are required to complete written, oral, and field examinations. Instructors will test the K-9 team at the conclusion of the course and they will receive a certificate of certification if they receive all passing scores. K-9 handlers will also learn about proper K-9 deployment, search and seizure laws, K-9 first aid, handling techniques, searching techniques, theory of scent, court testimony, record keeping and several other topics.
7. It will cost approximately $1,500 yearly to maintain the K-9. This includes things like food, vet visits and yearly certifications.
8. The K-9 will be with Deputy Halbach at all times when he's on duty. The K-9 will ride in a special cage in the backseat of the patrol car. When Deputy Halbach is not on duty, the pair will be able to be called out to assist other law enforcement officers 24/7 whenever possible.
Story created Jul 22, 2008 - 10:42:15 CDT.
|
