Northern Regional Police using federal grant to add 2nd dog to K9 unit

Northern Regional Police Chief John Sicilia wasn’t banking on actually getting a federal grant when he filed the paperwork to help cover the cost of replacing the dog that was retiring from the department’s K9 unit late last year.

“We had no idea if we’d get the money when we applied,” Sicilia said. “We didn’t want to just sit around and wait so we started a community effort to raise money by putting the bucket out for donations and applying to the Shaw Foundation for some funding.”

The Shaw Foundation, which raises funds and promotes initiatives for communities and first responders, is named for New Kensington Police Officer Brian Shaw, who was shot and killed while chasing a suspect on foot on Nov. 17, 2017.

The fundraising effort allowed Northern Regional to replace K9 Nolte with Theo, a Labrador born in Hungary who has training in tracking and explosive detection. Theo’s handler is Officer Michael Stevenson.

“We were able to get a new dog, but we haven’t been able to replace the vehicle used to transport him, which has very high miles,” Sicilia said.

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, announced recently that Northern Regional’s application for its K9 unit was approved for a $170,000 grant from the Department of Justice’s Byrne Discretionary Grants program.

“K9 units are a valuable tool for cops to help keep our communities safe,” Deluzio said. “I’m proud to help bring this federal funding back to the North Hills for law enforcement in their mission to keep us safe.”

Sicilia said the grant will be used to buy two new specially outfitted vehicles — one to transport Theo and a second for another dog being added to the unit.

The initial cost to buy and train a police dog is about $15,000, Sicilia said.

A police SUV typically costs in the upper $40,000 range and requires an addition $20,000 in upgrades for it to be used to transport a police dog, he said.

The chief said several officers in the department have already shown interest in training to become a K9 handler.

“Once we’ve selected an officer they’ll be involved in helping to pick the dog,” Sicilia said. “We’re not sure which breed we’ll be getting, but we want the second dog to receive the same type of training as Theo.”

In early August, members of the Rich-Mar Rotary Club presented Northern Regional with a check for $1,500 to buy a protective vest and a supply of food for Theo.

Northern Regional started its police dog unit in May 2007 after Officer Mike Dorsch and his dog Dark were hired the previous month. Dark retired in September 2014 and replaced by Nolte, who worked with the department until being replaced by Theo.

Unlike the previous two dogs, which were German Shepherds, Theo’s breeding and training makes him an expert in tracking.

While German Shepherds can be valuable tools for things such as crowd control or chasing a suspect, Northern Regional has moved to using tracking dogs because of the size and makeup of the area patrolled by the department, which covers about 50 square miles in Pine, Richland, Marshall and Bradford Woods.

Sicilia said having a tracking dog is a valuable asset because of the growing number of senior and youth residential and treatment facilities in the North Hills.

“When somebody goes missing from one of these facilities, time is very important, so we need to be able to react quickly to help find them,” he said. “Having a second dog that can track people means we’ll have a dog available every day of the week if it is needed.”