Laurel PD raises funds for new canine officers
Laurel, Del. – The Laurel Police Department has begun raising is trying to raise $80,000 to acquire two canine officers.
After nearly 10 years of service, Grimm, trained by the Delaware State Police K9 Training Facility in patrol and narcotics, will begin retiring and the department has begun the transition into retirement and acquiring new K9 officers.
Captain Tyler Bryan said the funds go into feeding, training, housing and medically caring for two new canine officers and new canine vehicles. Bryan said each dog costs anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 because they are highly trained and then must continue training once they work at the police department. Funds would also go towards purchasing new K9 vehicles, which Bryan said are about $15,000 to $20,000. However, Bryan said those funds would sustain the program for the next 10 years.
“So yes, it’s a lot of money, but and in the grand scheme, it’s, it’s not when you break it out over basically a ten year period,” he said.
He said that the department will be seeking the funds through fundraisers like the Go Fund Me fundraiser and by applying to grants through the Nation al Police Dog Foundation as well as others.
Captain Tyler Bryan says that canine officers are an invaluable resource for the police department because they help not just the town of Laurel, but the surrounding communities as well with their tracking skills and helping officers be more safe in potentially dangerous situations.
Officer Jeremy Adams will train to be a canine handler come next year. He told WMDT that, though there is a big commitment to having a canine, he said he is excited for a partner that has gone through the same training alongside him.
“It’s the officer here as well who’s there 24/7,” he said. “You can trust [them] because you went through the training with them is huge.”
The department will accept donations well into 2026 while they begin the process of acquiring the dogs. Bryan said the department will get the dogs in February to begin the bonding process with handlers until April of 2026.
