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Force Adds Drug Dog
05/12/08 MRC/CJ
The Floyd County Police Department is getting a new
drug-sniffing dog, four years after the department’s
previous dog was shot to death.
A 2-year-old chocolate Lab named Loki showed off his
skills in a demonstration Friday in the Floyd County
Sheriff’s training room.
Loki is in the final weeks of individual training with K-9
Specialties in Louisville and will soon be partnered with
Floyd officer Lanny Fessel for their dual training.
Sheriff Darrell Mills said he hopes to have Fessel and
Loki patrolling together by the end of July. Mills said
the $7,000 cost of buying Loki and paying for the training
is being paid with money from drug seizures.
The department’s last dog, a Belgian Malinois named Kimbo,
was killed on June 12, 2004, after he got spooked during a
thunderstorm and left his pen near Lanesville. Kimbo took
refuge in a garage and was shot in a confrontation with
the homeowner.
Mills said he decided to fill the vacant K-9 spot now
because he’s stepping up drug enforcement in the county.
K-9 Specialties owner Sherman Dotson, a retired Louisville
narcotics detective, put Loki through his paces. Rags
soaked in the odors of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine
and heroin were placed repeatedly in one of four plastic
bins.
Each time Dotson walked Loki along the bins until the dog
stopped at the proper bin with an excited point and stare.
His reward: a remote control in Dotson’s hand triggered a
spring-loaded tennis ball that shot out of the top.
Mills said the idea is to have Loki earn his keep through
drug seizures that also yield cash and property
confiscations.
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