Schuylkill sheriff's office adds dog to detect bombs, find missing people

A bright young dog with a powerful nose named Sara is the newest addition to the Schuylkill County Sheriff's Office, the department's first K-9 deputy, and the only law enforcement dog currently in the county.

The 14-month old German shorthaired pointer arrived in May and will soon be trained to work as a bomb dog with Deputy Evan Lecher, her handler.

Sara will work as a scent dog for the department after she is taught to detect and alert officers to explosive materials, and to help find missing people, runaways and fugitives, Sheriff Shawn Butler said.

Up until now, when the department has investigated possible bombs or needed to track someone, it has relied on dogs from the South Central Task Force, which is the emergency management region containing Schuylkill. Often it took hours for those dogs to arrive since they were transported in from other counties, or supplied by Pennsylvania State Police, Butler said.

During an incident last year when the Schuylkill County Courthouse had to be evacuated and searched for a bomb threat that turned out to be unfounded, a task force officer mentioned to Butler that grants were available from the organization to departments that wanted K-9s of their own.

The county applied for and received a grant that covers the $10,000 cost of acquiring the dog and its training. The training typically lasts eight to 12 weeks, and the final price will depend on its duration.

Sara was born in Poland and comes from an ancestry of scent dogs, meaning her bloodlines have prepared her well for the work ahead, Butler said.

German shorthaired pointers as a breed also excel at scent detection and tracking, which is part of what makes them such skilled hunting dogs.

"Their noses are really good," Butler said.

Sara is also social and well-mannered, which are good attributes since she will spend so much time in the courthouse and throughout the county when responding to incidents, Lecher said.

They therefore picked her from among other candidate dogs at Shallow Creek Kennel in Mercer County.

"We thought Sara would be fitting for me and for how we plan to use her," said Lecher, who will take Sara home with him when their shifts end.

Numerous police departments in Schuylkill used to have dogs, including in Saint Clair, Butler Twp., Mahanoy City, Shenandoah and West Penn Twp., but those K-9 programs were phased out over the years, Butler said.

"Now we were able to get one at no cost to the county taxpayers, and she's going to be a great asset," he said. "We're excited about this program."

Lecher and Sara will begin their training in late June at Rocket Canine in Lehigh County.

Once she starts on the job, her dual purpose of finding both explosives and people will make her extremely valuable, said Lecher.

In the meantime, Lecher is enjoying bonding with his new partner, he said.

And as Sara has walked the courthouse hallways in recent days and been greeted by visitors and employees, another of her benefits has become clear, Butler said.

"She's a great morale booster in the courthouse," he said. "She's been making a lot of people smile."

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