Streator Police Introduce New K-9 – Shaw Local

The Streator Police Department welcomed K-9 Bo to their force.

The new K-9 will work with Officer Trevor Sember, the police department announced on its Facebook page. Bo is a one-year-old long-haired German Shepherd puppy.

The police department said Sember and Bo will be transferred to another state to train together. Sember and Bo will complete a 160-hour dog handler course to receive certification. The program will last approximately four weeks.

The Streator City Council in May approved the purchase of a second K9 from North Iowa K-9 for $14,500 using funds from the drug seizure fund. The multi-purpose dog, which can track people and detect drugs, will be assigned an officer to supervise it.

Under Deputy Police Chief Robert Wood, the department already has a canine unit with Police Sergeant Aaron Smith and Hunter, but the duo work 12-hour shifts, so the department doesn’t have a canine unit the other half of the year. A second dog would allow the department to have a canine unit every day of the year, Wood said.