Madison Police K-9’s already serving

By Aldo Amato
Staff Reporter

MADISON – After losing one of their most trusted companions, the Madison Police Department has three new additions to help sniff out crime.

Arco, 3, Atos, 3, and Rico, 5, are the brand new K-9 dogs and members of the Madison Police force. The Belgian Malinois breed dogs will serve a number of purposes.

Lt. Nathan Beard said that all three dogs recently passed certification.

“They went through in-house training here in Madison,” he said. “On April 11, all three completed and passed their regional certification so we’re excited about that.”

Beard said that since the department purchased the dogs from North Carolina, they’ve been utilized for multiple situations including suspect apprehension, searching for drugs and article search.

“They all have the same tasks,” he said. “They are what we call a dual purposed K9’s.”

The officers who will be handling the dogs have also been trained in the K-9 section of the force. Officer Patrick Hamilton will handle Arco, Officer Jonathan Muecke will handle Atos and Officer Jesse Scroggin will be in charge of handling Rico.
Beard said the search for replacement of dogs began while Gunny’s health problems got worse.

“Officer Jason Bolden and myself traveled to K-2 Solutions in North Carolina,” he said. “We settled on these three dogs and they were purchased with federal seizure money.”

All three dogs have already been a part of operations.

“We’re very glad to have them here with us,” Beard said.