Powder Springs has a new police dog who is expected to begin work later in May.
Named K9 Reno, the German Shepherd, age 2, is trained in building clearing, area/article searches, tracking and narcotic detection, according to the city’s Interim Police Chief Lane Cadwell in an email statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The dog was purchased from Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana for about $15,000, including the training, with funding from the city’s seizure funds, he added.
Being trained by the staff at the kennels for an estimated six weeks, K9 Reno also is being trained by his handler, Powder Springs Police Officer Douglas Racine, Cadwell said.
“The dogs provided by Vohne Liche Kennels are strong social dogs and able to interact with the community along with their K9 duties,” Cadwell added.
Cadwell said Powder Springs has had K9 officers since at least 1999 when he arrived, with as many as three dogs working on patrol at one time.
The K9 unit was reduced to two dogs in 2009 after one of the dogs retired.
From different sources, the police department has had several different dogs over the years.
The K9 unit consisted of two dogs until 2021 when K9 Monto retired.
K9 Reno and Officer Racine will join K9 team Kash and Officer Matthew Rook.
Also a dual-purpose dog, Kash, age 7, is a Belgian Malinois that the city acquired through a donation in 2017.
Kash was named Social Media K9 of the Year for 2020 by the Georgia Police K9 Foundation.
View Kash at: bit.ly/3xBWwss
“The department is working to keep the excellent reputation Powder Springs holds with its K9 program and expand on that reputation with K9 team Reno and Officer Racine,” Cadwell said.
Information: facebook.com/PowderSpringsPD
About the Author
