Sheriff Jason Jacobson is happy to announce the addition of K9 Echo to the patrol unit!
Reinstating the K9 program was a priority for the department and this spring I was approached by McDonough K9 with a generous offer to do so. McDonough K9 is owned by Mark McDonough, a 32 year Retired Police Officer and Police K9 Handler for 22 years. The organization works with law enforcement agencies to provide trained dogs according to USPCA standards and with a focus on tracking, area and building searches, article search/evidence recovery and criminal apprehension.
Echo is from the Czech Republic, and is 1 ½ years old. He is a dual purpose German Shepherd trained to detect controlled substances and serve as a tracking/apprehension dog. Deputy Taft Anderson was selected as Echo’s handler, and the duo will be participating in a 12-week training in the coming months.
The Sheriff’s office worked with the elementary schools within Redwood County to help select a name for our new K9. The four names the children were able to vote for included: Echo, Egon, Red, and Rip. After the votes were tallied, Echo was the winner. Thank you to the school districts and students for participating!
We are grateful for the donation from McDonough K9, along with a grant from AKC Reunite and donation from AgCountry Farm Credit Service to support the Redwood County K9 Program. Deputy Anderson and K9 Echo will be hitting the streets later this fall! Watch for additional updates on the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page!
