Deputy Herring and Drako. Courtesy | Sheila Lonk

The bond between K-9 officers of the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department and their handlers may continue after K-9 officers retire, following a unanimous vote by the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 28.

“There was nothing actually in the county saying that, when the dog retires, the handler gets the dog,” Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire said. “They wanted the union and wanted it to be spelled right out that they would actually gain control of the animal once out of service.” 

Handlers agree by contract to care for the dog upon their retirement, according to the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes.

“In the event the handler wishes to decline assuming ownership of their retired K-9 officer, the K-9 officer shall have its ownership transferred to an appropriate K-9 service dog organization,” the minutes said. 

The policy is new to the sheriff’s office and was supported across the board, according to Hillsdale County Commissioner Brad Benzing. 

“It’s good public policy,” Benzing said. “The dog and the handler do have a bond. The dogs are part of their household, and it is the best fit. The dog is used to being with that person, the person is used to being with that dog.” 

The policy protects the relationship between the handlers and K-9 officers and will benefit the sheriff’s office as a whole, according to Benzing.

“They become their dog. They live in their house, they spend all their time with that person,” Benzing said. “There’s a very significant bond built between the canine and their handler. We wanted to make sure, upon retirement, that that dog would stay with the person who would handle them the entire time they served, which was the impetus behind the resolution.”

According to Deputy Sheila Lonk, who works in the city jail, there are four K-9 deputies working in the office. 

“It was 2021 when I started with K-9 Mayson,” Lonk said. “He’s the jail K-9. We have one narcotic patrol dog and one bomb patrol dog.” 

For multiple years the sheriff’s office did not have K-9 units. Once Hodshire was elected as sheriff, he brought back the program and this new policy reflects it, Benzing said.

“I don’t believe the policy has ever been an issue,” Benzing said. “It’s only been within the last five years that we’ve actually had K-9 back.” 

While Hillsdale County had never run into problems without a policy in place, it was important to formalize the procedure for K-9 officers entering retirement. Each K-9 has a handler upon entering the force and develops a significant bond during their time as an officer, Hodshire said.

“These dogs are roughly 1 year old when we get them, and this is the only owner they actually know after the training,” Hodshire said. “They become part of the handler’s family. So after eight to 10 years of service, and they retire, they should go back with their family.”

When the dogs are a year old, they enter the force after training, Lonk said. 

“Mayson was 18 months old when I got him,” Lonk said. “They go through a little two-week boot camp to see if they’ll even make it, and if they pass, then they go on to do the rest of their training. I want to say it’s 255 hours of K-9 training with him and the canine trainer. Then we go through certification once a year to certify, and we have to have 16 hours of training each month with a dog.”

While each dog loves to come to work and do the job, Lonk said the animals form a bond with their handlers similar to the bond a pet would form with its owner.

“The dog gets to know you, and you’re its person. We love that dog,” Lonk said. “He loves his ball. They are ball-driven dogs. That’s one thing Mayson does: he’s always working, he’ll start sniffing, and, if he finds something like narcotics, he’ll sit down and get excited because he knows he is going to get paid. And that’s how all three dogs are. They are just work-motivated and they love to work.”

Lonk said she did not expect to work as a K-9 Handler when she was assigned to the jail.

“When it came up for bid, I signed it. It makes me love to come to work every day,” Lonk said. “You get to work with your partner, he watches out for you, and you watch out for him.”

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