Barrackville raising funds to buy, train new K9 officer
Aug. 16—BARRACKVILLE — Like many small, rural police departments around the U.S., the Town of Barrackville has no funding in its annual budget to purchase a new K9 officer.
So, Police Chief Chuck Wilson has set up a GoFundMe account to raise $20,000 of which $10,000 will go toward purchasing and training a new K9 officer and the remainder will go towards training Wilson to work and bond with the new dog, as he puts it, "Which will take away from the costs the town has to pay while I'm there[training]," Wilson said.
To date, Wilson has raised $6,387 for the new K9 officer.
The town's current K9 officer Reudiger is a German Shepherd that is 8-and-a-half years old and Wilson would like to retire him soon so he doesn't have to work until he passes away. Wilson said he would like to see Reudiger have some fun time serving as a family pet instead of working until the day he dies.
"Another reason I'm wanting to retire him is that I noticed that the heat has slowed him down, gotten him real hot. [Saturday] I took him out and he was a little bit more playful because it cooled down a little bit," Wilson said.
"Their lifespan is 9-13 years and he's been doing this since he was about a year old. I'd like for him to have some time to live with the family and be a pet instead of working till he passes away."
Reudiger has been with the department since 2015, and is trained in narcotics, tracking and apprehension.
This is not the first time Wilson and Barrackville have reached out to help fund needs in the police department. In January 2020, Wilson applied for and received a grant from the Glenwood, Illinois-based nonprofit Protecting K9 Heroes to equip Reudiger with a new bulletproof vest.
"Not a lot of police departments even have a K9 budget at all," Protecting K9 Heroes President Staci Goveia told the Times West Virginian in January 2020. "And for the most part, handlers pay for the needs of their K9s out of their pocket. For a K9 to protect its community, we don't feel that the handler should have to pay for protection of their K9."
She said the goal of the nonprofit is to ensure the handler and their dog go home safely together every day.
Barrackville resident Diana Marple has also stepped forward to help raise funds for the new K9 officer by hosting paint parties in the Lions Club Community Building on Pike Street. On Aug. 13, a small group of guests painted an American Flag Sky with trees silhouetted in the foreground using acrylics.
Her work along with other donations has raised about $5,800 to date, Wilson said.
"I would like to retire him before he is nine, but I don't know that it's going to happen, it just depends on the funds," Wilson said. "He has been with us for about six-and-a-half years. He started with another handler who had him for about six months or eight months and then I took over and had him ever since."
When Reudiger is not helping Wilson patrol Barrackville, the duo is called on to aid other area law enforcement agencies.
"We've done apprehensions. He did an apprehension and helped Harrison County on an apprehension and pursuit that came into Marion County and we went and assisted him in finding the subject after he fled on foot," Wilson said.
"We've helped the West Virginia State Police with felony apprehensions when they've called us out. We constantly assist Marion County [Sheriff's Office] and other communities with narcotics searches of vehicles."
To view the GoFundMe page, click here or to donate to the police department, call Barrackville Town Hall at 304-366-9372.
Reach Eric Cravey at 304-367-2523.
