'We're off to a good start': New sheriff's office K-9 settles into new role – Albert Lea Tribune

After months of preparation and training, the Freeborn County Sheriff's Office's newest deputy took office earlier this month.

Chase, the department's new K-9, started his first official day on the job on June 4.

Chase's handler, Deputy Kody Needham, said he found out in August or September that he had been selected for the position, and that the department chose the K-9 in January, when the dog was about 1 year old. It was purchased from an Eastern European company that supplies police dogs.

In January and February, Chase acclimated with Needham and his family, and during the first week of March, Needham and Chase began 13 weeks of training at Code Blue K-9 in Rushford. The duo trained four days a week until Chase graduated on May 30.

Needham said the first two weeks of training focused primarily on narcotics training and introducing the dog to all the odors it was trained to alert to.

After that, they began patrol school, which, in addition to narcotics, also incorporated learning about apprehension, tracking, and article searching.

Chase has received certification from the United States Police Canine Association, with specific narcotics certifications and scenario-based training.

Of the three dogs participating in the training, Needham said Chase barked the least but had the strongest bite.

Needham said the opportunity to be the new manager of the department has been great for him, even though he has been busy juggling the new responsibilities, work, his wife and children.

It’s probably the best experience of my career so far – especially going to the K-9 school,” Needham said. “It was like, 'I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this.' It's not even work, you go there, you train a dog and you have fun.

Since completing his training and officially joining the department, Chase has been used in three calls so far, late last week.

The first was a call about a possible burglary in progress. They conducted a search of the area and everything was secured.

During the second call, another deputy found an open door to a business and Chase was used for a search of a building.

On the third call, Chase successfully completed an item search for the South Central Drug Task Force.

“We got off to a good start,” Needham said.

The duo also participated in the Morin Lake Days Parade and went to the Albert Lea Family YMCA for their week-long “Secret Agent” camp, where they said the kids were excited to see Chase.

Needham said Chase is an energetic, playful and very social dog.

He said people are welcome to make requests for additional tours or protests through Deputy Chief Tim Bennett, the K-9 supervisor, at [email protected] .

Sheriff Ryan Shea said the department is excited to have the K-9 team back and hopes to get a second K-9 within the next two years.