Bowling fundraiser kicks off Bemidji Police Department's efforts to revive K9 program

Jan. 24—BEMIDJI — Members of the Bemidji Police Department are preparing to welcome a new coworker.

This highly trained officer will have a particularly keen sense of smell, an affinity for treats and a fur coat perfect for Minnesota winters — he's a Labrador Retriever.

The department has been working to reestablish its K9 program, which it hasn't had in place since the early 1990s when its dog, Justus, retired. Due to a lack of funding, the department has been relying on surrounding agencies to help in situations where a K9 is needed.

Fundraising efforts began on Monday with a bowling event at Bemidji Bowl, with 100% of the lane sales going to the K9 program.

At the helm of the program is Officer Rachel Kniss. For her, reviving it marks the fulfillment of her longtime goal of becoming a K9 handler.

"In October 2022 I approached (Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin) with this goal that I've had for a while, a career goal of mine," she said. "I asked him what his thoughts were and I kind of went into it just seeing if we would be interested in something like (a K9 program)."

The department has been working behind the scenes for more than a year to get the program up and running. A big part of these efforts included getting

approval from the Bemidji City Council

to start community fundraising, which Kniss secured in October 2023 with flying colors.

"I got a 7-0 unanimous vote in favor of reestablishing the program," Kniss said. "Since then, it's really lifted off."

Once the dog is fully trained, Kniss' new partner will be traveling to Bemidji from Performance Kennels, a company that provides law enforcement agencies with police dogs based in Buffalo, Minn. The Labrador Retriever is currently just 10 months old and is already starting to get acquainted with his job duties.

"I went and saw him in November and he was at a family's house where he was being trained in obedience, being socialized with other dogs and being socialized within their family," Kniss said. "Just recently, he's been imprinted so he's starting to learn how to detect controlled substances and how to track."

The K9 will officially begin his career in March when he will attend 12 weeks of training alongside Kniss. After his training is complete, the dog will be able to detect controlled substances and evidence, as well as locate missing people and nonviolent offenders.

"The dog will be trained to detect human odors, so let's say we have a missing person that meets the criteria in which we would use the dog," Kniss explained. "As long as we have an area where we know someone ran or was walking, we can track that person. That situation would be used for missing people and nonviolent subjects."

Without a program in place since the 90s, the department has relied on surrounding agencies, mainly

the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, to assist in any K9 needs.

While their dogs are useful in situations involving violent offenders, the police department's new dog will have different specialties than other K9s in the region.

"Something unique about this dog — and no other agency in our surrounding area has a dog like this — is that it won't be trained in apprehension, which means bite work," Kniss said. "So if we have a missing person we rely heavily on Beltrami County's K9s if we need a dog for a situation. They're not going to deploy their dog if it's not appropriate, it's too much of a liability for them to deploy their K9s on a missing person because those dogs are trained to bite as soon as they find someone."

Having a police dog that isn't trained to bite has other benefits too, Kniss noted, including the opportunity to bring the dog to different events so he can meet his new community.

"Having this tool will be specialized for Bemidji and I think we're going to get a lot of use out of it," Kniss said. "We're excited to use it at different public relations events. It's trained to be around people, it'll be very friendly."

The department has set a fundraising goal of $130,000. Along with the costs of training for both Kniss and the dog, donations will largely go toward getting a fully outfitted squad car, which will cost around $80,000.

Along with a roomy dog kennel, the vehicle would include a temperature alarm and door-opening software called "Hot N Pop," which monitors the car's heat levels and sounds an alarm or even pops open the car's door if the vehicle gets too hot for the dog during the summer months.

The K9 program's next fundraising opportunity will allow

participants to have photos taken with their own furry friends.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, and from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, attendees can visit the Tourist Information Center at Paul Bunyan Park and receive three digital photos with their pets for $10.

The city of Bemidji Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with the K9 program, will offer $20 pet activity packs at the Tourist Information Center starting in February, which will include treats, toys and other items for pet lovers.

Through Feb. 1, Bemidji Police K9 T-shirts are available for $20 each. To order a shirt, visit

ci.bemidji.mn.us.

Tax-deductible donations can also be made out to the attention of "K9 Program" and sent to the Bemidji Police Department at 613 Minnesota Ave. NW, Bemidji, MN 56601.