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Marathon County sheriff’s office describes self-funded K9 program, training and community support
Summary
Marathon County Sheriff's Office told the Public Safety Committee its K9 program is entirely donor-funded, operates five patrol dogs plus a therapy dog, and faces ongoing costs including roughly $18,000 for a dog-and-handler training package.
Lieutenant Troy Dylor of the Marathon County Sheriff's Office told the Public Safety Committee on Sept. 9 that the county's K9 unit is self-funded and relies on community donations and local foundations for equipment, training and new dogs.
The program began in February 2013 after a long hiatus, Dylor said, and has grown from two dogs at startup to five patrol dogs currently on duty plus a sixth therapy dog used by the county's crisis response team. "The program is funded, solely by, itself funded," Dylor said, adding the unit does not use county tax-levy dollars for K9 operations.
Deputy Hoffman, a two-year K9 handler who presented the unit’s current working dog, described the dog's training and deployments. "During that time, we've had over a 100 deployments within the Marathon County area," Deputy Hoffman said, listing narcotics detection, clearing open buildings and tracking as routine duties. Hoffman said Blue, the current handler dog, is a German shepherd–Belgian Malinois mix and will turn 4 in November.
Committee members asked about program costs, training cadence and community outreach. Committee member Jason asked whether the dogs could be used for search-and-recovery work; Deputy Hoffman said the dogs are dual-purpose and trained in human scent tracking as well as narcotics detection. Committee member Deb asked about dog-to-dog interactions; Hoffman said some separation is required because working dogs are trained to be “top dog.”
Program funding and support: Dylor said the program conducts an annual calendar raffle and other fundraisers and receives management and financial support from the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin and donations from private foundations. He also described the Norman Bradfish Foundation, established in February 2014, which manages an endowment that awards donations to local agencies starting or expanding canine units.
Cost details and training: The committee was told a combined dog-and-handler training package currently runs about $18,000. Handlers train twice a month and the dogs must recertify annually, the presenters said. The program also coordinates demonstrations and training sites with local businesses and community events to raise visibility and funds.
The committee did not take formal action on the K9 presentation. Members thanked the presenters and encouraged continued community outreach and fundraising.
Looking ahead, Dylor asked for public- and private-sector training opportunities and community demonstrations to sustain the program and plan for future dogs.
