Sylvania Twp. officer to be trained for new canine unit
4/22/2013Sylvania Township Officer Patrick Charest will go to Columbus next Monday for six weeks of training as preparation for the township’s new canine unit.
Township Police Chief Robert Boehme said the department identified a need for a dual-purpose dog that could search for drugs and missing persons.
“We want to keep drugs out of our community, and we want to have the capability to find suspects that may flee from us,” Chief Boehme said.
Chief Boehme said the department was still deciding between a German Shepherd or a Belgium malinois. Dog and handler will train at the Gold Shield Academy. Chief Boehme said the dog will be trained in obedience and may receive some fine-tuning to its instinctive ability to track and find drugs.
Sylvania Township trustees this year voted to use $20,000 from seizures from drug operations that the township executes jointly with the Drug Enforcement Administration.