Deputy Sheila Lonk with K-9 Mayson (left) and Deputy Daun Herring (right) with K-9 Drako. Courtesy | Scott Hodshire

The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office will hire a new K-9 after receiving a $21,500 donation from a local credit union.

American 1 Credit Union, which serves the Hillsdale area, donated the money to help the sheriff’s department use K-9s to target illegal drugs more effectively. 

“We want to get as many drugs off the streets as possible,” Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire said. “The two road K-9s are on opposite shifts. We have taken several guns, drugs, and money off the streets and were able to send two of these drug runners to prison. We have to work closely with the prosecutor’s office to get a good conviction.”

According to an A1CU press release, the donation will fund the purchase of a new K-9 and a 210-hour training course for Deputy Colton Bassage, who will be training the dog. The donation will also cover monthly training and essential supplies for the K-9 unit.

Bassage said the department adopted the new dog, Jager, from Magnum K-9 in Quincy. By the time the sheriff’s department got the dog, workers at Magnum K-9 had trained him in basic obedience.

The courses funded by A1CU teach the dog how to locate drugs while teaching the handler how to work with the dog.

“We are going through the handler course for me and the K-9 course for the dog together,” Bassage said. “Eventually, he gets to the point where he can run around 30 cars, and if there’s only drugs in five of them, he doesn’t pay attention to the other five of them.”

Bassage and Jager will complete their training courses in March. Bassage said he and the dog have built a strong bond throughout their training.

“It’s cool because I get to see him progress, and he gets to see me progress,” Bassage said. “We learn together as we go. I might be biased, but Jager has one of the best noses I’ve seen out of a dog.”

Bassage currently takes Jager with him in the back of his car at all times,. He can use the dog to sniff out an area if he suspects someone of possessing or transporting narcotics.

A1CU invested $180,000 last year into the communities it serves, according to Vice President of Communications Kelly Grygiel.

“When crime is reduced, and residents feel secure, everything from local businesses to schools and families benefit,”  said Grygiel. “For us, this donation isn’t just about funding a program, it’s about strengthening the foundation of our community and standing alongside those who work every day to protect it.”

A1CU reached out to the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department after learning it was planning to expand the K-9 unit, Hodshire said.

The sheriff’s department currently has four K-9 handlers and four dogs, all of which are trained in different specialties, according to Hodshire

“One of our K-9s, Tito, is trained in explosives,” Hodshire said. “Two of our dogs, Jager and Drako, are trained in all drugs except marijuana due to it being legal. The fourth dog, Mayson, is trained in all drugs and is our jail K-9.”