Searching for a good dog (02/06/2009)

DUNKIRK - City police are looking for a new recruit - the four-legged variety.

Dunkirk council members voted Thursday night to add a police dog to the force for drug sniffing and tracking purposes, if funds for the purchase could be raised through donations and not tax money.

Dunkirk Police Chief Dane Mumbower and Officer Bobby Johnson volunteered to initiate the fund-raising campaign with a goal of raising at least $15,000.

No timetable for the start or finish of the fund-raising drive was set. However, council members voted unanimously to approve the idea at Thursday night's special council meeting called by Mayor Ron Hunt at the request of Mumbower and Johnson.

Johnson volunteered to serve as the police dog's handler, attend training classes with the dog and keep the dog at his house.

Mumbower and Johnson recommended purchasing a trained police dog from Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Ind., north of Peru.

Numerous law enforcement agencies have gotten dogs from Vohne Liche, including several local agencies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, NASA, Chicago and Indianapolis.

Present with a Vohne Liche Kennels dog at Thursday's Dunkirk council meeting was Sgt. Steve Schlechty of the Portland Police Department. He introduced his department's police dog, Roy, to the council members and gave a short demonstration of its effectiveness.

Mumbower said he viewed having a police dog as a valuable tool which would be very beneficial to the department in narcotics investigations as well as missing persons cases involving children or the elderly.

Johnson said he already talked to his family members about having a police dog living at their house, and they were in favor of the idea. Also Johnson agreed that he was willing to take the necessary training and put forth the extra effort to make the program a success.

Johnson said the cost of a trained police dog ranges from $5,000 to $15,000. If the donation campaign proved successful, an older model police car could be purchased, possibly for about $5,000, specifically for the canine officer. This car would have a cage in the back seat for the police dog and be driven to and from work by Johnson so he could respond to calls more quickly. Johnson said he was agreeable to this idea, too.

"It's unbelievable what these dogs can do," Schlechty said. "These dogs are highly trained."

Councilman Craig Faulkner introduced the motion to allow the police department, specifically Mumbower and Johnson, to launch the fund-raising campaign and set up a special bank account for donations.[[In-content Ad]]