THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PIONEER K-9 OFFICER VADER … Vader is ready for anything from tracking, busting up drug deals, protecting his partner, Officer Mills, to sitting and waiting very still for his toy during his photo shoot.
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Big things have been happening in Pioneer’s police department with their K-9 unit. Officer Randy Mills has the pleasure of having K-9 Officer Vader as his partner in crime busting.
Officer Mills and Officer Vader both recently passed their State of Ohio certification, with their sights set on completing both their National Certification and North American Police Work Dog Association certification in the near future.
As of now, “Vader is certified in narcotics detection, area searches, article searches, tracking, criminal apprehension, and officer protection.”
Officer Mills noted that “Vader has been involved in intense training for approximately 6 months. Vader was selected out of several other possible police canine options. There was just something that stuck out with him.”
“Vader was chosen on several different factors including his demeanor, drive to track using his nose, and many other tasks just made him stand out above the rest.”
The training that Officer Mills and Officer Vader are enduring is groundbreaking in Pioneer, as Officer Mills shared that “Vader is the first K-9 to work for the Pioneer Police Department, and we are excited to continually introduce him to our community and put him to work.”
Vader has a long tenure ahead of him, as the black shepherd is relatively young -his birthday falling in December of 2021- and this is just his opening act.
Officer Mills shared that “Vader getting certified in the State of Ohio is just the tip of the iceberg. Vader and I continue to train every day to ensure we are the best team that we can be in a continued effort to best serve the community we work in and those surrounding us in a time of need.”
Although Vader is ready for anything, Officer Mills noted that “K-9 Vader understands when it is time to go to work and when he just gets to be a regular dog at home.
Vader stays with my family and I, and when Vader sees me getting ready for work, he gets excited because he knows he gets to go to work as well.”
At the end, Officer Mills shared that not all of Vader’s time is spent training to save the world: “on Vader’s off days, he enjoys playing toss ball with his small humans, and treats are always a bonus.”
Anna can be reached at
anna@thevillagereporter.com