Two more Iron Range police departments have joined the AMSOIL Northland Law Enforcement K-9 Foundation. With the edition of the Hibbing and Eveleth police K-9 programs, the K-9 Foundation now serves all eight law enforcement agencies that have K-9s in St. Louis and Douglas Counties.
“It has long been our goal to be able to support all of the police and sheriff’s office K-9 programs in our region,” said Robbin Champaigne, president of the K-9 Foundation Board of Directors. “Law enforcement K-9s do such important work protecting our communities and their human partners, so we’re all safer thanks to strong K-9 programs.”
The Hibbing Police Department has one K-9 team - Officer Brittany Dillinger and K-9 Dottie, a four-year-old English Labrador Retriever specializing in electronic storage detection.
The Eveleth Police Department also has one K-9 team - Sgt Brandon Elias and K-9 Bear, a nine-year-old German Shepherd certified in narcotics detection and various patrol functions. Hibbing Police Chief Steven Estey and Eveleth Police Deputy Chief Brian Ness have both joined the K-9 Foundation’s Board of Directors.
With the addition of these two agencies, the K-9 Foundation has now doubled the number of agencies it supports. The Foundation originally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2013 to serve the Duluth and Superior Police Departments and the Douglas County and St. Louis County Sheriff’s Offices. The Hermantown Police Department was added in 2017, and the Virginia Police Department was added earlier this year.
“K-9s have unique skills that help law enforcement do their work more efficiently and effectively, but they’re also expensive,” said Champaigne. “As agencies are constantly looking for ways to trim budgets, we are able to help cover the costs to purchase and train K-9s. We’re extremely grateful to the businesses and individuals who donate to our Foundation so that we’re able to support K-9 programs now in eight agencies.”
Donations to the K-9 Foundation are tax deductible and may be designated for the general fund to be used where needed most or can be earmarked for a specific agency. To learn more about the AMSOIL Northland Law Enforcement K-9 Foundation or to donate, visit northlandk9.org or facebook.com/northlandk9