DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The Decatur Police Department's K-9 unit is getting some new four-legged additions, as two young Dutch Shepherds begin training to one day serve and protect alongside officers.
The department recently welcomed puppies Ivan and Rudi, who are already showing promise as future police dogs. According to Lieutenant Ben Massey, the K-9 program has been a staple of the department for decades.
"We've had a K-9 unit for over 30 years," Massey said. "We currently have two handlers … and we have two active dogs, and then we have the two puppies."
Ivan and Rudi joined the department at the end of February when they were just eight weeks old. Now approaching four months, the dogs are already deep into early training.
Massey explained the process to develop a fully trained K-9 is intensive, requiring both time and dedication from handlers.
"They put in a ton of hours with the dogs," he said. "When they get the K-9 originally … they're with them usually at least a 10-week training cycle every day."
The puppies are being trained as dual-purpose dogs, meaning they will assist in a variety of tasks once fully certified, including narcotics detection, suspect tracking and locating evidence.
"The goal is to train them, and eventually they will replace the canines that current handlers have when they retire," Massey explained.
Even in the early stages, Massey said Ivan and Rudi's progress has been impressive.
"It's amazing seeing where the puppies were when we got them to where they're at now," he said. "It's mind-blowing how smart they are, how driven they are."
Beyond their training, K-9s play a critical role in keeping both officers and the community safe. Massey said the dogs help officers work more efficiently and can be vital in life-or-death situations.
"We've used them before for tracking not only suspects, but missing persons," he said. "There was an elderly person in the middle of winter, and the dog located her."
The unit has also been instrumental in recovering evidence that might otherwise go undetected, including firearms.
"They've recovered multiple firearms just in the last year," Massey said. "Humans aren't going to see them … and the canines just pick it up."
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