Vet Clinic Hosting Fundraiser For New Waite Park K-9 Unit
Kato is only 7, but the Waite Park Police Department’s K-9 officer is getting ready for full-time retirement.
Kato has trouble with his hip. The German shepherd is only being used for sniffing out drugs, it’s less physically demanding than apprehension work.
Kato is the lone K-9 officer in Waite Park police’s long-running K-9 program. The department was a little spoiled because Dino, who retired last year, was in the field for about 12 years, Waite Park Police Chief David Bentrud said.
Kato works with Officer Derek Whitehead. Whitehead will continue to be Kato’s handler until the dog retires for good, Bentrud said.
Granite City Pet Hospital is hosting a fundraiser Sunday at Community Park to help pay for and train a new K-9 officer. The veterinary clinic provides free care for Kato and Abby, Cold Spring-Richmond Police Department’s yellow Labrador. (Kato needed care after cutting his tail on the job.) Cold Spring-Richmond now has a German shepherd.
Police dogs are an important resource for human officers, Bentrud said.
“They certainly help backup officers in critical situations,” he said.
Sunday’s fundraiser will feature games, a bounce house, food, drinks and a raffle, said Ashley Dement, clinic assistant at Granite City Pet Hospital. Kato and K-9 colleagues will be there, too.
The fundraiser will be kid-friendly, Dement said.
“I never once met an aggressive dog” from the police departments, she said. “They’re all very friendly.”
A new K-9 officer can cost up to $20,000 with training, Dement said. The clinic is already halfway to its goal. Donations have long helped Waite Park’s program.
“We’ve been very fortunate the local community has been very supportive,” Bentrud said.
Bentrud said department officials are trying to figure out if, for Kato’s replacement, they’ll go with another German shepherd or a more cost-effective dog such as a Lab that does solely non-apprehension work. Waite Park police primarily need the dog for drug sniffing and searches, and there are enough other types of police dogs in the area that they could borrow another agency’s if needed.
“We’re trying to balance all that, and we want to be respectful of the resources that the taxpayers provide us,” he said.
Stearns County Sheriff’s Office uses two bloodhounds, Cold Spring-Richmond has Abby and a new German shepherd, Sauk Rapids has one German shepherd and St. Cloud police employ two German shepherds on patrol. Sartell and St. Joseph do not have K-9 officers.
St. Cloud’s dogs are used for a multitude of tasks, including on SWAT missions, Commander Jeff Oxton said.
“They are just an incredible asset to have,” he said. “It lets us do our job so much more safely.”
Special thanks to Kate Kompas, and SCTimes
German Shepherds are very active dogs and described in breed standards as self-assured. German Shepherds are known for a willingness to learn and an eagerness to have a purpose. They are curious, which makes them excellent guard dogs and suitable for search missions. They can become over-protective of their family and territory, especially if not socialized correctly. They are not inclined to become immediate friends with strangers. German Shepherds are highly intelligent and obedient.
German Shepherds are a popular selection for use as working dogs. They are especially well known for their police work, being used for tracking criminals and detection and holding of suspects.
The German Shepherd is one of the most widely used breeds in a wide variety of scent-work roles. These include search and rescue, cadaver searching, narcotics detection, explosives detection, accelerant detection and mine detection dog, among others. They are suited for these lines of work because of their keen sense of smell and their ability to work regardless of distractions.
