(PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
NEW K9 … Kya was introduced to the village during the council meeting held on July 10th. Together, Kya and her handler Officer Jordan Wehrly stand for a picture.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
The Fayette Police Department introduced their new Police K9 to village council members during their meeting held on July 10th. Kya is a Belgian Malinois who was donated by Tom and Kathy Schmidt of B.A.R.K.
B.A.R.K stands for the Buckeye Area Regional K9 and is located out of Medina, Ohio. Known for being a home for the Free Police Dog, the organization has donated over 125 dogs to police departments thus far, with Kya being the 125th dog donated.
Along with Kya, B.A.R.K. also donated training that will follow the dog throughout its entire life and career with the Fayette Police Department.
Fayette Officer Jordan Wehrly, and now K9 Handler for Kya, explained that the village and department has been able to build up the new K9 program entirely through donations.
Numerous local businesses and many residents have donated money to help make sure this idea became a reality.
Kya was just recently born and was brought over to Fayette to begin her training. At 8 weeks old, Kya began riding with Officer Wehrly and will continue to ride with him throughout the training process.
Currently, the hope is to have Kya trained and certified in both dope (illegal drugs) work and tracking by 6 months old, and apprehension and patrol work from anywhere between 1 year and 1 ½ years old.
To accomplish this, both Kya and Officer Wehrly travel to Medina once a week, every week, to better their skills.
When you hear one day a week, it doesn’t sound like a lot. However, Officer Wehrly explained that training for Kya never really stops.
Even on days off, the training continues. With Kya working on both dope work and tracking, together the pair perform at least three tracks per day, and also have specially designed dope towel used 3-4 times per day.
“She has advanced so much with her past training and everyone has been impressed with her performance. We try to train as much as we can to keep this momentum going. Even on days off we are at home doing at least 3 tracks a day.”
“She is chasing the dope towel around 3-4 times a day. There is a lot of commitment with this, and it has been great.”
Officer Wehrly also explained what motivated him to want the position of K9 handler. “One of my favorite things to do is criminal interdiction. Every officer has their favorite thing they like to do.”
“For me, a K9 is another addition to my tool belt. It’s another asset, and extra tool, and it will be good for the department.”
Even with all of this said, one question remains. Why a K9, and why now? Throughout the discussions that have taken place during talks to bring a K9 department into Fayette, a few things were touched on as to why.
One such reason would be due to an increase in criminal activity observed by police, whether that be due to an actual increase or an increase in presence.
Drug activity has especially been highlighted, with officers having had several interactions throughout this past year.
These interactions are dangerous in and of themselves, due to several risks posed to both the officer and offending subject whenever drugs play a part in the situation. This risk could potentially be life-threatening for officers.
Having a K9 in the village will help to reduce drug-related crimes which in turn will help to reduce possible negative interactions and exposures. It will also be a huge asset to the community in other ways.
“One of the biggest things we want to have tracking is not really criminal related. This would be a great asset for something like tracking an elderly dementia patient or an autistic child.”
“We want this resource to be available to us if someone wanders off. Kya would be able to pick up their scent and find them and that goes a long way with us.”
Even with all the reasons listed above, there are plenty more that could be listed as to why a K9 will be good for the Fayette Police Department.
This is very evident to the people of Fayette as well, as the amount of support shown has been extraordinary.
Whether it be residents stopping by the see the dog, waving from the side of the road hoping to see the dog, or through the amount of money donated, there is an obvious amount of excitement being expressed by everyone.
Officer Wehrly, Fayette Police Department, and the Village of Fayette wished to thank everyone who has been involved in making this program happen.
A tremendous amount of support has come from all areas of the community, with some support set up to last many years.
(PHOTO PROVIDED / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
FATHER – DAUGTHER … New Fayette K9 Kya and Officer Jordan Wehrly enjoy some training in Medina, Ohio. Kya also gets to spend some quality training time with her father