Streator police introduce new K-9

The Streator Police Department welcomed K-9 Bo to its force.

The new K-9 will be paired with Officer Trevor Sember, the police department announced on its Facebook page. Bo is a 1-year-old long-haired shepherd puppy.

The police department said Sember and Bo will be relocated out of state to train together. Sember and Bo will attend a 160 hour K-9 handler course for certification. The program is about four weeks.

The Streator City Council through the drug forfeiture fund approved in May the $14,500 purchase of a second K9 from North Iowa K-9. The dual purpose dog, which is able to track people and detect drugs, will have an officer assigned to handle them.

Deputy Chief Robert Wood at the time the department has a K-9 unit already with Police Sgt. Aaron Smith and Hunter, but the duo works 12 hour shifts, leaving the department without a K-9 unit for the other half of the year. A second dog will allow the department to schedule a K-9 unit every day of the year, Wood said.