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K-9 Unit |
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Bike Patrol
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Officer Daniels and K-9 Officer Gauge
The South Abington Township Police Department's K9 Unit became a reality in 2003 after several residents came together and formed the Canine Committee, and successfully raised the funds needed, to purchase a dog and begin training. The Canine Committee, met with Chief Robert Gerrity, and Alan Finn of Designing Dogs, was chosen as the exclusive trainer for the South Abington Police 9 Unit. Officer Paul Wolfe was selected by Alan Finn, as the Department's first K9 Handler, and Badge was purchased through the funds raised through Community Donations. During a training exercise, Badge suffered a minor injury, which sadly revealed a rare blood disorder in Badge. Valiant efforts were made to stabilize Badge's condition, and it soon became evident, that Badge would no longer be able to perform the duties of a police service dog. Badge was retired from service, and woefully his condition continued to worsen. Officer Wolfe, made the ultimate and caring decision to let Badge go, as his quality of life had deteriorated, to a point where Badge was unable to enjoy his life. Alan Finn donated a statue to Badge and Officer Wolfe, which has a place of honor in the main lobby of the South Abington Township Building. While Badge's service to the Department and Community was cut short, the impact he and Officer Wolfe had, set the standard for the Department's K9 Unit. Following this setback, Officer Daniels, who has served with the Department since August of 1986, and was selected as the handler for Gauge Vom Hinter Berg Hof. Gauge was selected, by Trainer Alan Finn specifically for Officer Daniels and training began in mid 2003 and Gauge and Officer Daniels were placed into service in January 2004. The K9 Unit is used to supplement the patrol division of the Department, with the Team being certified in Patrol duties which includes crowd control, building searches, suspect apprehension, search and rescue assignments, narcotics detection and crime suppression. Due to the unique abilities of the police dog/handler team, Officer Daniels and Gauge work a variety of shifts based on the needs of the community at the discretion of the Chief of Police. Aside from normal duty assignments, the K9 Team is available on an on-call basis at the request of the Chief of Police or his designee. Training for the K9 Unit is a daily activity and Officer Daniels and Gauge are often found training at any number of locations within any of the communities serviced by the South Abington Police Department. Recently Officer Daniels attended a continuing education class in Harrisburg, for advanced first aid and care for canines. The purpose of the course was to teach Officer Daniels life saving techniques for the care of Gauge. The course covered topics from splinting broken bones, to CPR and airway management for Canines. Don Snyder, a paramedic for Community Life Support and Officer James Waters, who also served with the Chinchilla Hose Company, donated much of the equipment needed to outfit the K9 Unit with a trauma bag specifically designed for the care of Gauge. In October 2006 The South Abington Township Police Department hosted the Inaugural, Lackawanna County Chief's of Police Association Police K9 Competition, Officer Daniels competed against K9 Teams from across Lackawanna County, and from Susquehanna County, and from New York and New Jersey. The team was awarded first place in the obedience portion of the competition, third place in the narcotics detection event and overall came in Third Place for the days events. In November of 2006, The South Abington Township Police Department was awarded a grant from Senator Mellow's Office for the purchase of a 2006 Ford Explorer Police Special Services Unit, to replace the original K9 Unit which had been used since being retrofitted by members of the Township's Department of Public Works. The new unit is unique to any other K9 Unit in service in the area, as it provides for an area exclusively for Gauge, as well as a secure area for transporting an occupant as well. This along with the added room needed for the equipment related to the Canine Unit, will allow the team, to better serve the communities serviced by the South Abington Police Department for years to come. The
South Abington Township Police Department continues to rely on community
donations for funding. Officer Daniels and Gauge are available for
demonstrations to Schools and Civic Organizations. For information to to
schedule a demonstration contact the South Abington Police Department at (570)
586-2111 Never
try to pet a strange dog without asking the owner first
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