By Sarah Morris
Stillwater NewsPress
STILLWATER, Okla. —
The Payne County Sheriff’s Office began taking donations this week to purchase a police dog, Sheriff R.B. Hauf said.
He hopes to add the K9 unit as soon as funds are available, he said.
“We don’t have a set date. It just depends on how the donations go,” he said.
Hauf said estimated costs of a K9 officer and equipment are from $11,000 to $20,000.
A K9 unit is not new to the department, which has had canine officers for years. The last dog was killed in a September 2009 accident. Hauf said Deputy Paul Fox, the handler, did not want to replace the dog at the time.
Without a K9 unit, the sheriff’s office has had to rely on the K9 units of the Stillwater and Cushing police departments. Fox said this adds extra work on the assisting agency and officer as well as other time constraints.
Fox , a K9 officer for more than 10 years, said he has raised and trained dogs before bringing them into the K9 unit. He enjoys the job, he said, since dogs do not lie and he always has a partner.
“Probably the most gratifying thing about it is you never stop learning,” Fox said. “The greatest reward is getting drugs/narcotics off the street.”
Fox said he is now ready for a new dog, but this time he would like to purchase an already trained dog. It would take him a year to train a dog himself, he said.
The sheriff’s office would like to purchase two canines. The remaining money would be put into a special fund to be used only for the K9 unit and its needs.
“If fortunate enough to get two dogs then we’d have a dog working from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m.,” Fox said.
Both dogs would be narcotics dogs, which Hauf said would be a benefit.
In the past, the dogs were used to help the Payne County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies with narcotics detection, crowd control, search warrants, barricaded suspects, tracking suspects and tracking missing senior citizens and children as well as numerous social functions and school activities.
Hauf said the dogs are also trained in apprehension.
“If we have a burglary that we believe someone is still in there, it is safer to take the dog in there than send one of us,” Hauf said.
To donate, go to the Payne County Sheriff’s Office or mail checks to the sheriff’s office to the attention of Sheriff R.B. Hauf, 606 S. Husband, Room 106, Stillwater, OK, 74074.
For more information, call 405-372-4522 and press three for administration.
