NO PLANS TO REPLACE RICCO
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 -- 11:47 AM
Neillsville?s Police Department won?t replace their retiring K-9 officer anytime soon.After 7 ? years of service, Ricco has been forced into retirement due to a condition called Spondylosis, which causes the formation of bone spurs along the dog?s spine.
"The K9 program worked out really good for us," says Police Chief Brad Lindner. "Being a small town, most people don't think you have a K9 program, but it sure helped us with the enforcement of all the drug laws."
The Department got a lot of use from the dog, and also offered his services to other area agencies.
"We used him in searching schools. Our own school, and surrounding schools. We used him to search the jail," Lindner recalls.
Ricco worked exclusively with Officer Scott Klueckmann. The City Council will discuss the matter tonight, but he?ll probably become Scott?s property.
Don?t expect the Neillsville P.D. to replace him anytime soon. It takes a big commitment on the part of an officer to learn how to handle a police dog.
"We'll always try to put that program in place again. It takes a special type of officer to want to give the commitment to want to become a K9 handler," he says. "There's much training that the officer has to put in."
The Loyal Police Department is starting a K-9 program. They plan to acquire a dog in the next month or so.
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