Streator police to acquire second K-9

The Streator Police Department will welcome a second K-9 to the force.

The Streator City Council approved the $14,500 purchase Wednesday from North Iowa K9 through its drug forfeiture fund. The dual purpose dog, which is able to track people and detect drugs, will have an officer assigned to handle them.

Deputy Chief Robert Wood said the department has a K-9 unit already with Police Sgt. Aaron Smith and Hunter, but the duo works 12 hour shifts, leaving the department without a K-9 unit for the other half of the year. A second dog will allow the department to schedule a K-9 unit every day of the year, Wood said.

“We’ve had great success with our current K-9 and its handler,” Wood told the council. “We’re looking to multiply that with a second dog.”

The dog and its designated officer will attend a 160 hour K-9 handler course for certification in early September. The program is about four weeks.

“The hope is to have them back on the road after that,” Wood said.

The department will update one of its older squad vehicles to accommodate the K-9. Wood said he anticipates the department to get about another four years of life from the vehicle. Most K-9s work about nine years before retirement, Wood said. Hunter is in his fifth year on the force, he added. Smith is going to assist the department in updating equipment for the K-9′s arrival.

Wood said the next step will be to notify North Iowa K-9 and indicate the police department is moving forward, then extend bids to the union in order to select an officer as the handler. The department previously used North Iowa K-9 for its purchase of Hunter.