The Warsaw Police Department’s K-9 Unit was started in 1989, with the first K-9 being a 22-month-old German Shepherd named Jimmy. The K-9 Unit expanded in 2006, when WPD received a grant from the K-21 Foundation. Today, WPD enlists the help of one highly-trained police K-9. These K-9’s have saved lives and apprehended hundreds of perpetrators.
Bubka
Bubka is an English Cocker Spaniel. He joined the department in June of 2015. He is trained to track both drugs and people, but he is not trained to bite. Instead, his tracking skills are used most when searching for lost children or elderly adults. Bubka is handled by a narcotic detective.
Odin
K9 Odin was born on December 11, 2017 in Slovakia. K9 Odin is a German Shepherd and weighs 90lbs. Odin joined the WPD on October 29, 2019. K9 Odin and Officer Zack Smith went through a six week training course at Vohne Liche Kennels and graduated on December 13, 2019. K9 Odin loves training, finding drugs, biting bad guys, and his tennis ball. When K9 Odin is not working, he enjoys chewing his bones and living the lake life. K9 Odin and Officer Smith currently work on 2nd shift at Warsaw PD.
Red
Red joined the Warsaw Police Department on December 30, 2019. Red is a two year old Belgian Malinois born in Poland on June 10, 2018. Red is currently assigned to third shift with his handler, Officer Clayton Rieder, but they will respond whenever they are needed. Officer Rieder and K9 Red completed their training at Von Liche Kennels in February 2020. Red is a dual purpose canine, certified in narcotics detection, tracking, and criminal apprehension. Red is a high drive dog that loves to come to work. In his down time, Red loves to play with his tennis ball and tug toys.
The police K-9s are valuable law enforcement tools and have proven effective in the areas of narcotic detection, apprehension of fleeing criminals, tracking, article searches, and officer/handler protection. The K-9's are on call 24 hours a day and provide narcotics detection in local schools as well as local businesses. They also perform numerous demonstrations throughout the year. When the K-9s are off duty, they live with their handlers.
WPD K-9 Hall of Fame
Although they are not currently serving with the department, past K-9s are fondly remembered by WPD’s officers. These are the animals who make up the history of the WPD K-9 Unit: