The Greene County Sheriff’s office has a new K-9 handler.

Deputy Chris Freshe, who was hired over two years ago, is the new handler for K-9 Leo. The German shepherd dog first started working with the Sheriff’s office in late 2013 with then Chief Deputy and current Sheriff Jack Williams. However, last year Williams told the County Board of Supervisors he no longer had time to devote to the K-9 Unit and Freshe volunteered to take over the program.

Freshe says he and Leo first started the bonding process between canine and handler this past August. “He started coming in and living with me (and) starting having him ride everyday with me in my patrol car. It just kind of helped him to know that I was the new handler and that he was going to be with me now. (I) Tried to keep him away from Sheriff Williams just to try and cement our bond. I think we both can read each other pretty well. We both work really solid together now.”

In October of 2018, the duo began training for narcotics and tracking. Freshe points out Leo is a dual-purpose dog in that he has apprehension training, which means he can bite and hold onto suspects if situations call for it. Freshe explains that Leo can also use crushed vegetation and scent discrimination to track either suspects or missing individuals.

The two were also used recently in a random drug search, along with the Boone County K-9 Unit, at the Greene County School District. Freshe says in those situations, Leo gets physically exhausted and can’t search multiple buildings in one day, so that’s why they called Boone County to assist. Freshe points out it was the largest search that he was involved in with Leo and equates it to humans running a marathon.

The K-9 program operates mostly from donations. Freshe says ongoing expenses such as veterinarian bills and dog food are supplemented from donations. He adds that within the next couple of years, they will need to replace Leo.

“So Leo is about 7-years-old right now. Around 8 ½-9-years-old is when we start looking at retirement for the dog, depending on their health. So in order to let him retire so he can live out the rest of his life in a little more relaxed environment, we’d like to try and retire him around the 9-year range.”

Acquiring a dog similar to Leo costs about $15,000. To make a donation, make checks payable to the Greene County Canine Program and drop them off at the law enforcement center in Jefferson.