Chief Ty Sharpe describes Officer Keely K9 as the Dilworth Police Department’s “community service dog” — a reassuring friend to fellow officers, children and the public alike. Photo/special to the Extra.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
Dilworth’s newest police officer is a different breed, all right, and she is making friends wherever she goes. Meet Officer Keely K9 – the friendliest face in town.
Officer Keely, at 14 months, has been filling the role of “community service dog” since the day she leapt into the back seat of Police Chief Ty Sharpe’s squad car. An indeterminate mix of retriever and border collie, she was recruited from the Humane Society of the Lakes in Detroit Lakes to fill a new kind of canine role in the eight-person department – not as the traditional drug, “bite” or tracking animal most think of when they hear “police dog,” but as an emotional support dog and ambassador to the people the department serves.
“I’d been reading about other departments around the country adding a kind of therapy dog to their ranks,” Sharpe reports. “It’s outside-the-box thinking. With trauma and PTSD on the rise all over, the dogs can help in all kinds of ways, both within the department and outside in the community.”
He says his officers were initially cool to the idea. They supported adding the better-known kind of crime-fighting canine. “But that was out of reach for a department our size,” Sharpe says. “Purchasing a specially bred Belgian Malinois or German Shepherd can cost $20,000 to $30,000, and that’s just the beginning. The dog and an officer require 10 weeks of out-of-town training, at another $20,000 or more, along with special gear and other costs.”
Instead, the therapy dog he had in mind could be a better fit for the department the London native has headed since 2014. “The breed doesn’t matter. The training isn’t as specialized or expensive,” he says. “What you look for is a dog of up to 18 months old with the right temperament.”
After several months of searching, Keely became a candidate. Sharpe knew he’d picked the right girl when he stopped at a day care on the way back to town. “There were kids outside, and they swarmed around the car when they saw her,” he says. “Frankly, it was more than I thought was wise right away. But she handled it wonderfully – just sat there wagging her tail.”
So instead of the slow and easy breaking-in period he’d envisioned, the chief took Keely to meet her new coworkers the next day. Outfitted in her police vest and collar badge, she has been on duty ever since. She was an immediate hit at Lunch with a Cop, the thrice-weekly sessions for kids the department held at Whistlestop Park all summer, as well as other community events.
“I can tell she misses the people, now that events have settled down,” Sharpe says. “I’ve been taking her when I go for supplies at Walmart. Children want to come up to her, but their parents tell them, ‘No, don’t bother the police dog.’ I’m happy to say that this is a different kind of dog. Go ahead and pet her.”
Back at the police department, she has won over fellow officers with her fond welcomes and spirit-lifting personality: “No matter how bad a day you’ve had, you have to feel better when she comes up, nudges you, drops her ball at your feet and invites you to play.” Her calm, friendly demeanor also makes her ideal for reassuring those affected by crime and trauma, as well as building relationships with young and old around the community.
When Sharpe first floated the idea with the city administrator, he was encouraged with just one caveat. The K9 couldn’t cripple the budget. Nor has she. “I paid the $213 adoption fee out of my own pocket,” the chief says. He estimated the costs of maintaining her at about $2,500 a year, including veterinary fees, food, a kennel and her “uniform.” “Our local branch of Northwestern Bank came through right away,” he reports. “They’re sponsoring her whole first year.”
When the K9 is off duty, she goes home to Sharpe, his wife Amy – a first-grade teacher at S.G. Reinertson School, and “soccer-mad” (his words) 15-year-old daughter. When they take off her vest, she knows it’s time to relax. “But by Sunday night she’s getting restless,” he reports. “She keeps a very close eye on me to make sure I don’t leave for work without her.”
Updates on Officer Keely K9 are available on her Instagram and Twitter pages.
