In June, a veteran Columbus Police Department officer retired. In service for nearly a decade, in which he played a starring role in narcotics and tracking cases, it was time to hang up his badge.
Suddenly out of work, Stanley, a Belgian Malinois, moved in with his partner.
“I decided to adopt him,” said K-9 handler Nicholas Hairston. “I had gotten used to him. He was like a member of my family, and I had the space, so why not keep him?”
At his new home, Stanley cohabitates with three other dogs, Hairston said: a Doberman, a Maltese and a Yorkie. It’s harmonious, for the most part.
“The Doberman is a puppy,” Hairston said. “They get along pretty well, but Stanley doesn’t have a problem letting him know when it’s time to stop playing.”
Stanley’s exit left a void at CPD, though, and it’s one that is about to be filled.
Tuesday, Hairston went to the Columbus City Council and asked for some help. He raised about half of the price of a new dog via private donors, but needed help with the other half. Luckily, he wasn’t going to have to pay full price for the dog, but in order to get the discounted price he needed to act right then.
A new dog costs upwards of $20,000, he said, and then the cost of training the dog and the handler has to go on top of that. A joint program sponsored by the Mississippi Law Enforcement Association and the Hernando Police Department is allowing CPD to pay half price for the dog, and get the training portion at no cost.
Hairston said he sent out a fundraising letter to local businesses that raised $5,400 of the $10,000 cost via donations. The council on Tuesday voted unanimously to chip in the remainder.
“On Jan. 1 I’ll be heading to Denver, Indiana, to Vohne Liche Kennels,” Hairston said. “They specialize in police dogs, and departments all over the country get dogs there. I’ll test a few dogs and find the one that fits the best.”
After a few days to get used to one another, Hairston and his new partner will head to Senatobia for several weeks of training.
Chief Fred Shelton said the department already has the gear it needs to host a K-9, which will also bring some savings.
“We have the vehicle and all the gear (Hairston) needs,” Shelton said. “The only real cost is the dog.”
Since Stanley’s retirement, the department has had to rely on other agencies to help, Shelton said.
“Right now we have to call the sheriff’s department if we need a drug dog, and then we have to wait until they get there,” Shelton said. “Having our own will cut down on response time. (Hairston) will be on 24-hour call, and we can get him whenever we need him.”
The new dog will also be trained for both drug interdiction and tracking, Shelton said. CPD will still be lacking a bomb-sniffing dog, but he remains hopeful the department will obtain one of those eventually.
“We used to have a bomb-sniffing dog named Black,” Shelton said. “We got him through a Department of Defense program that found new jobs for dogs that had been used in Afghanistan. He’s retired now, because he was an old dog, and we are definitely interested in getting another one.”
Right now the department calls in the sheriff’s office or Columbus Air Force Base for bomb threats, he said.
Anyone interested in donating to the K-9 program can write a check to CPD, Shelton said.
“We can earmark the money for the K-9 program,” Shelton said.
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