South Kingstown Police Department Welcomes K9 Connor

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — The South Kingstown police department is welcoming a very special recruit. Thanks to a $25,000 grant, the department will receive its first-ever K9 officer.

The department applied for the grant from the Stanton Foundation's First Dog Program in October 2019, and was notified they were accepted this spring. The funding allows the department to begin a K9 program without shouldering the expensive start-up costs associated with it. The foundation funds the creation of new K9 units in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Maine, covering the cost of the dog, training, kennel fees, the cost to retrofit a cruiser for the dog, food and veterinary costs for three years.

The department selected a Belgian Malinois named Connor, who is currently completing a 14-week training program with is handler, Officer Jonathan McHugh. The pair will learn to work as a team and will be certified in search and rescue, article tracking and retrieval, narcotics detection, apprehension and patrol.

Once trained, the team will be on-call around the clock. In the past, the South Kingstown has relied on state agencies and neighboring departments when K9 services were needed. Police K9s are used to track missing persons, search and clear buildings, assist officers as needed and find illegal drugs. Dogs can search much larger areas that a person, and K9 units often help strengthen the relationship between the community and the police.

"The South Kingstown Police Department is excited to introduce K9 Connor to our ranks as the first police K9 in the department since the 1970s," Captain Alfred Bucco said in a statement. "Officer McHugh and K9 Connor have endured and excelled during a rigorous training program and will prove to be a valuable asset to the police department and the community as police canines serve a critical role in patrol operations. The South Kingstown Police would also like to thank the RI K9 Academy for providing top-notch training for the K9 team and for their continued support of the SKPD throughout this process."