The Stuart Police Department has had their K9 program back in service for roughly two and a half years now.

Officer and K9 Handler Daniel Irving says that having his partner Ally has been an exciting time, and that he’s seen the program benefit the community since they brought the program back. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio why he worked to bring back the program, and why he enjoys being part of it.

“Being a K9 handler, I truly believe that I have the best job, because I get to come to work everyday, and it’s a lot of fun being around her, and getting to train with her, and then go out and be able to better serve the citizens of Stuart and the surrounding areas. So it’s a lot of fun.”

Irving shares that being able to have the program back in Stuart has been very helpful not only to the community, but to surrounding jurisdictions as well.

“We are a very busy town in and of itself. Just the PD here, and then surrounding areas. We get called, kind of all over the place. Between the counties surrounding us, local PD’s around us, we’ve been involved in dozens of cases, and it’s really proven to be a very useful thing to have in this area. Very busy.”

Irving mentions that the hardest part about bringing the K9 program back was getting it up and running after rebuilding it from scratch. He adds that thanks to generous donations from the community when they were restarting the program, they were able to retrofit a vehicle to make sure Ally was safe and comfortable on the job and get her a protective vest. With continued donations, the department is also able to keep her healthy with veterinarian check ups, and purchase everyday needs like food and toys.