Two K-9s, Turbo and Jax, join Richland County Sheriff's Office
The Richland County Sheriff's Office has two new K-9s from Belgium on the force ― Turbo and Jax.
Both have been trained to apprehend suspects and detect of narcotics and are already working with deputies on the streets.
Wednesday, Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon held a meet-and-greet with the media to introduce the dogs, one a German Shepherd and the other a Shepherd/Malinois mix.
Deputies Ethan Rogers and Alec Mills shared information about their new partners from the parking lot of the Richland County Sheriff's Office, 597 Park Avenue East.
K-9 Turbo turned 1 year old in June
Rogers, 24, an Ashland High School graduate, said Turbo, a Shepherd, turned one year old in June.
Mills' new K-9 Jax is 2 years old. Mills is originally from Columbus.
Both dogs and their handlers completed a five-week training program in Warren, Sheldon said. Ohio requires law enforcement dogs to be certified through the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy. Both dogs are certified, the sheriff said.
Sheldon said the department's previous K-9s were all retired.
This was something Sheldon said he wanted to do and with COVID-19 and lack of manpower, the K-9 program was postponed until recently. He started getting the ball rolling on this project two years ago, he said.
These two K-9s were purchased with a donation from the Gorman Foundation, he added.
Department purchased 2 SUVs for K-9s
"We've been wanting to send a couple deputies to K-9 school but because of the manpower we hadn't been able to do it," Sheldon said.
The department also has purchased two new SUV K-9 vehicles.
Rogers and Mills have been with the sheriff's office two and three years, respectively.
Being a K-9 handler is something Rogers said he wanted to do since he was a kid. Mills said he knew in college he wanted to be a K-9 handler in law enforcement.
Each K-9 also will be used to search for drugs at the Richland County Jail.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: New Richland County Sheriff's Office K-9s presented to media Wednesday
