Police dogs are considered another “tool” for police trying to keep you safe, and in Madison, only the K-9 officer’s salary is covered by the city — the rest is covered by donations.Training such as searching for guns keeps K-9 and his partner, Officer Jim Donnell, ready for the real thing.
“It’s not the gun, whatever it may be… he’s looking for fresh human odor,” said Donnell.
During the next exercise, Johnny finds hidden cotton, smelling like drugs.
Madison police said these dogs do things humans can’t and are worth every penny when it comes to fighting crime. “The start-up costs for one dog is anywhere between $50 to $65,000. There’s the price of the car, equipment, radio — along with the dog and training with dog,” said Donnell.
A “dog paddle” is being put together by volunteers of the Capital K-9 program. Dogs of all types will be hitting the pool for the second-annual fundraiser.
“He can point out danger, situations before we get to them,” said Donnell.
The goal is more officers on the street like Johnny.”
(Johnny’s a) great tool for our department,” said Donnell.
Four K-9 patrol teams currently search for crime suspects or missing people along with finding evidence or drugs. They’d like to add two more for 24-hour-seven-days-a week coverage, WISC-TV reported. The Capital K-9 Dog Paddle is Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Goodman Pool in Madison.
