Ocean City Police Introduce New K-9 Unit

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City has some new four-legged officers. The Ocean City Police Department introduced its new K-9 Unit on Friday.

The three K-9s were adopted from shelters or donated to the Ocean City Police Department. They recently graduated from the Atlantic County John "Sonny" Burke K-9 Academy "Scent Class #6," training 16 weeks with their human partners.

The new K-9s will serve Ocean City through by detecting explosive and drugs. Meet the new K-9 Unit:

• Miles, a male beagle-hound mix, was adopted from a shelter in Tennessee. He took a long road trip to New Jersey with his handler Sgt. John Vogt. Miles will detect drugs.
• Briar, a female chocolate lab, partnered with Officer Joshua Clark.
• Penny, a female Belgian Malinois, partnered with Officer Jacob Johnson. K-9 Academy Director Joe Nicholas donated Briar and Penny. They will both detect explosives.

Manco & Manco Pizza covered a large portion of the program costs. Animal House Pet Store and the Humane Society of Ocean City contributed supplies and medical support.

Thursday's graduation ceremony opened with a rendition of the National Anthem from Mia Pancoast. Her father, Mark Pancoast, is an OCPD sergeant. K-9 Academy Director Joe Nick welcomed the new officers and their loved ones into the K-9 family.

See the new members below:

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