Donations are coming in to help the New Hampton Police Department (NHPD) add a K9 to their law enforcement efforts.
Chief Conrad Rosendahl says the new K9 Unit was jumpstarted with a $12,000 grant from Oz Lifting Products of Winona, Minnesota, which has pledged to help one law enforcement agency each year purchase a canine. According to an article at www.winonapost.com, the NHPD is the Code Blue K9’s first recipient ever.
Total cost to launch the K9 program could run upwards of $35,000.
Rosendahl says donation commitments include Stanton Electric and New Hampton Veterinary Clinic donating $3500 towards up-fitting a K9 squad car and they will split the cost of future K9 veterinary services.
To donate, contact the NHPD at 641-394-3241 or message the New Hampton Police Department on Facebook.
There’s still the question of the dog’s handler, which Rosendahl hopes could be a recruiting tool as they look to fill two open officer positions.
Rosendahl says the plan is for dog and handler training to begin next August.
