Donated funds from Rogers Township will train new K9
by Peter Jakey–Managing Editor
The Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners agreed to move forward to train an east German shepherd dog with $10,000 pledged from Rogers Township.
The dog is owned by Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. David Whitford and his family; however, Kilo has quite the affinity for Whitford, who will be his handler.
For the county, there seems to be a growing drug problem with more than seven arrests for possession of methamphetamine in recent months The addition of a K9 would fill several holes at the department.
“It gives us one more tool that we can use when it comes to searching for anyone that is lost and possibly detect an illegal drug use that’s being transported and used,” said Presque Isle County sheriff Joe Brewbaker. “So, I am very thrilled that we have Kilo and that Sgt. Whitford has taken the initiative to put this in action.”
Kilo is 2 years old and has police blood lines. “His dad is a go-to work every day dog in another county,” Whitford said. “His mom is a retired drug dog. He would not be trained in any aggression, or handler protection, it would strictly be tracking for missing people, and obviously the drug detection.
“He is a pretty big, sturdy dog, super friendly, loves people and loves being around kids. I want to be able to take him into the schools.”
Whitford, who went before the county board last Friday to make a presentation, said the funding comes from the township’s excise tax that comes from the sale of marijuana.
“I was contacted by the Rogers Township board,” said Whitford. “They were looking to get some funds to the sheriff’s department. They have three marijuana businesses in the township and can use the excise tax on whatever they want.”
Whitford said the $10K would cover the expenses of training and the initial equipment to get the program started. No money was going to come from the county’s general fund or the sheriff’s department budget.
“I guess the only issue would be the liability,” said Whitford. “I went ahead and put together a few documents and contacted the county’s attorney and the board’s attorney.”
Whitford said it would take a couple of months for Kilo to be trained.
“Then I would be brought up to speed as to where I need to be as far as continuing the training with him,” said Whitford. “If we were going to try and do this ourselves, as a department or as a county, it would be $20,000 to $30,000 to buy the dog and do the training.”
“So, everyone is clear,” county clerk Ann Marie Main interjected, “He will not be 10
“This is where he is going to be housed?” asked commissioner John Chappa.
“Absolutely, he will be at my house,” said Whitford. “If I’m in the backyard throwing the ball around and he gets hurt, it will be my responsibility.”
Rogers Township has indicated that it would like to continue funding what is needed to keep the program going or purchase equipment to outfit a vehicle.
With Kilo not being an aggressive dog, it would make it possible to take Kilo into the schools and provide positive publicity for law enforcement.