Lakeville Police K-9 Program Celebrates 25-Year Anniversary

Last Friday, we held a short ceremony to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of our Police K-9 program. The ceremony included an introduction by Mayor Mark Bellows and the dedication of a wall of photos of the six LPD K-9 teams that served over the years and a demonstration by the two current LPD K-9 teams. Mayor Mark Bellows and City Council member Matt Little both participated in the K-9 demo as volunteers by putting on bite sleeves and taking “bites” from K-9 Zeus.

Starting in January 1986 our first police K-9, a German shepherd named Dakota, teamed up with Officer Tom Hakala. Since then, a tradition of excellence in competition in police K-9 trials, in working as police patrol dogs serving on the street and in building positive community relations was firmly established for our K-9 program.

Through the years, each of our successive K-9 teams, from Officer John Arvidson and Buster, to Officer Beth Eilers and Kuffkey, to Sergeant Brigham Strole and Blue, to our current K-9 teams of Officer Chad Loeffler and Shadow and Officer Jason Jensen and Zeus, have carried on and added to that tradition of excellence in service to our Department. Their work has made the job safer for our officers working the street as well as our residents and businesses. Every time a K-9 team has searched a building that has been broken into, apprehended a dangerous criminal, successfully tracked a missing person, or located hidden illicit drugs, they have helped to make our community a safer place.

These successes are largely due to the dedication and commitment of our police K-9 handlers over the years, who spend untold hours training these very special service animals. Lakeville police K-9 teams have excelled in regional and national competitions but their highest recognition comes from their human patrol partners on the streets, who see how valuable they are every day.

Since the very beginning, the Lakeville Police K-9 program has been supported through significant private donations from civic organizations and private citizens and businesses to purchase, care for, and train these remarkable animals. Our police K-9s have also been some of the most popular members of our department. The public demonstrations by Shadow and Zeus of their skills and training are very popular and well attended. Our police K-9 partners are an integral part of our department and, I am sure, will continue their tradition of excellence in service to our citizens well into the future.

Weekly LPD Snapshot

Sampling of LPD activity for the week of April 19 to April 26, 2012

Traffic Crashes 10, Alarms 23, Animal Calls 44, Medical Emergency Calls 35, Thefts 28, Traffic Stops 193

Veternary Clinic Thanked for Service

Since 2003, the veterinarians at the Cleary Lake Small Animal Medical Center have provided veterinary services to the Lakeville Police Department K-9 dogs at no cost. These veterinary services have included annual checkups, vaccinations, and preventive medications. Along with these services, Cleary Lake Clinic has cared for our K-9s when they have been sick or injured. This veterinary care to our K-9s ensures that they remain healthy and effective as a valuable asset to our department.

Along with the owners of the Cleary Lake Small Animal Medical Center, Dr. Dave Hermann and Dr. Kathryn Ott; Dr. Naomi Casper has provided these services to our K-9s over the past several years. On behalf of the Cleary Lake Clinic, Dr. Casper accepted a plaque in a short presentation at the April 16 Lakeville City Council meeting, thanking and recognizing the veterinarians and the clinic for their services.

Dumb Criminal of the Week

Officers Thor Howe and Jason Haider were on a stake out on a building that had been experiencing thefts of scrap metal over the past few weeks. The officers were only there a short while when a minivan pulled into the area and parked. A subject proceeded to get out of the minivan and load 25 pounds of metal into his van and drive away. The officers stopped the subject vehicle and arrested the subject, charging him for theft of the metal.

Have a great week!