Milk-bone, Farm Fresh donate $5,000 for new police dog

SUFFOLK

All the dogs came at once.

The police department had gone years without a K9 unit, until the mid 2000s, when it acquired six German shepherds.

They're all close in age, and they'll all reach retirement about the same time, said Maj. Larry Wilson. With a working life of about eight years, that's not too far off.

Which is why Wilson was already thinking about a replacement when the phone call came.

"It was uncanny," he said, "how it worked out."

Milk-Bone and Farm Fresh were offering Suffolk police a $5,000 donation toward the purchase of a new police dog. The canines cost about $6,000 with basic training, Wilson said. The gift, part of Milk-Bone Canine Heroes Program, would just about cover it.

The Suffolk Police K9 Unit accepted the donation in a ceremony last week at Farm Fresh on Bridge Road.

Wilson said the department will start its search for a canine in early 2010.

Three of the dogs and their police officer handlers work downtown. The other three work out of northern Suffolk, Wilson said. Four of them are trained to sniff out drugs; two are explosive-trained. All can track people and search buildings.

Milk-Bone has donated more than 850 police and service dogs since it partnered with the nonprofit Canine Assistants in 1997, according to the city.

"We're extremely grateful for the donation and that we were selected," Wilson said.

Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5555, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com