Burnsville Police Reach K9 Fundraising Goal, Thank Community

This fall, Burnsville police K-9 Echo (pictured above) will be retiring from the force.

Last month, the Burnsville Police Department began looking for donations from the community to help fund a new K-9. The goal was to raise $20,000 before the end of 2016.

In just three weeks, the department has received more than $32,000 in donations, according to a news release.

"In just a few short weeks, we received dozens of donations ranging from $5 to several thousand,"
said Burnsville Police Captain Jef Behnken.

"We are so grateful to our Burnsville community for their
generous support of our department and K-9 program."

Donations go toward the purchase, training and equipment of a new K-9.

Rex (picture above) is the newest addition to the Burnsville K-9 unit and began patrolling with Officer Brian Hasselman in the spring of 2014.

Burnsville's K-9s

Burnsville’s canine unit started in 1982 with Starsky. Thirteen dogs have served in the unit.
Currently, the Burnsville Police K-9 Unit consists of Officer Ben Archambault and his K-9 partner Echo along with Officer Brian Hasselman and his K-9 partner Rex.

Both dogs are used as locating tools and are trained to conduct building and large area searches for hidden criminals, tracking lost persons and criminals, article/evidence searches, and narcotics detection. Both dogs are also featured at numerous community education functions and public canine agility demonstrations.
Rex is the newest addition to the Burnsville K-9 unit and began patrolling with Officer Hasselman in the spring of 2014.

Both Echo and Rex were imported from eastern Europe and bred specifically for police work. Both dogs then completed a 12-week training program at the St. Paul Canine Training Center before going to work, where they are used for criminal apprehension, tracking, evidence search and recovery, and narcotics detection.

Images via City of Burnsville