Rockingham County Sheriff's Office Gets A K-9 Unit

Exeter NH

20 July, 2021

5:32 PM

Description

BRENTWOOD, NH — The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office now has a K-9 unit. "Saber," a 17-month-old Belgian Malinois, has officially joined the force. He will be handled by Deputy George Abele, who previously was the K-9 officer for the Brentwood Police Department, according to Major Chris Bashaw of the department. Abele and Saber attended a 14-week K-9 school in Boston and graduated from the program earlier this month. "During this intense training Deputy Abele and K-9 Saber were trained in Obedience, Agility, Evidence Recovery, Building searches, Area searches, Tracking, Search and Rescue, K-9 First Aid, Hander Prediction, and Criminal Apprehension," Bashaw said. "Deputy Abele and K-9 Saber will be attending Narcotics school in January 2022." Grant funding for the K-9 Unit was provided by The Stanton Foundation which collected $27,000 in grants for the unit. The funds were used to cover acquisition and training costs and other costs during the next three years. "The Stanton Foundation requires the K-9 to be a dual-purpose dog which are typically German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds or Belgian Malinois and requires the K-9 and their Handler to participate in training programs ranging from 8-14 weeks where the dog and handler learn to work as a team in crucial areas of specialty police work," Bashaw said. "Both the handlers and K-9 police dogs are prepared to be on-call around the clock whenever their services are needed. The grant has allowed us to bring a dynamic asset to our agency." The K-9 unit will be used to track suspects, search and clear buildings, and assist officers with other tasks like narcotics searches. They are also used to improve community relations, Bashaw noted. The following organizations, according to Bashaw, also assisted in funding to get Saber onto the force: The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners, All Creatures Mobile Vet & Mitchell Animal Hospital, Brentwood Tractor Supply, Brentwood, and Plaistow, Starkey Welding and Crane, Brentwood Pet Smart, Epping, Joe Wilson Construction, and BRB Construction. Got a news tip? Send it to [email protected]. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.