St. Anthony Police Department raising funds to bring in a four legged officer

ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (KIFI)- It's been close to four years since St. Anthony had a K-9 officer in the department. Now there is a need for a K-9 unit once more.

The new K-9 will allow for the department to detect drugs coming through the area says Officer Hunter Gregory, who will be the dog's handler.

Gregory says while they are close to reaching their goal, they're still hoping to raise funds for some of the equipment needed to keep both the K-9 officer and the handler safe in the field.

"We're pretty close to what we need to purchase the dog," Gregory said. "We're still working on raising funds for maintenance and training supplies, things like that."

Officer Gregory says they hope to have the dog soon. Once they have the dog, he says it will be a while before he and the dog can work in the field together.

"We'll bring the dog back here to work with me for a few weeks. I'm going to work on just bonding and obedience stuff, and then we'll start training, probably with ISP," Gregory said. "Originally we were looking at doing it through a Utah post. But they don't have a program until the middle of July, and we're looking at working with ISP with their trainers that are certified through the state."

Idaho requires 160 hours of training for both the handler and the dog. Once finished, Gregory says the department hopes to not only curve the presence of narcotics in the St. Anthony area, but also have the dog involved with school programs, and interviews with people affected by crimes.

Gregory says there are two different ways to donate to the department.

"You can donate directly to the canine program at the Saint Anthony Police Department, or you could go on the gofundme that we've set up for that as well."

Gregory says local businesses have also been a big help to the program, saying Glenwood Snacks, a local beef jerky manufacturer, and St. Anthony Motor Sports have been a great help in raising funds.