CANTON – The St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators passed a bill allowing the Sheriff’s Office to open an account to take donations toward a second K9.

The full board passed the motion during their Monday, May 3 monthly meeting.

Sheriff Brooks Bigwarfe said they need the second dog to be more specialized in tracking. Their current K9, Knowlton, is trained in tracking, but mostly is used for narcotics searches.

He said the new K9 could track people like “lost kids, Alzheimer patients, someone with dementia, criminals that flee scenes, something like that.”

Bigwarfe added that since St. Lawrence County is such a large county, adding another dog would “make sure we have full coverage. The second K9 gives us that.”

He said he doesn’t know exactly how much they’ll need, but estimates in the $20,000 to $25,000 range. He’s seeking donations as a means to save taxpayer money. That includes buying the dog, training costs and paying for associated equipment.

“We may get a large donation from Homeland Security, because we have in the past,” he said. They have to go through their state administration.”

After the training, which the sheriff said takes several months, they have to do interviews for a new K9 officer to handle the dog.

“They have to be in good shape. There’s a lot of off duty work,” said Bigwarfe, himself a former K9 officer. “It is an extensive amount of work.”

“It’s dear and near to my heart. I have firsthand knowledge, I know what the importance of a k9 is and what they can do for the citizens,” he added. “I found lost kids, criminals fleeing from scenes, evidence articles. There’s so much a K9 can really do for law enforcement agencies.”

The department has been naming their K9s after former sheriffs and officers. Their current K9, Knowlton, is named after former sheriff Keith Knowlton, who Bigwarfe said was “a big supporter of the K9 program.”

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