Harrison County Sheriff’s Office revives K-9 unit with Sadie

It has been a long time since the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office had a K-9 unit, but that changed with the addition of Sadie, a Dutch shepherd. A small ceremony took place April 16 at the sheriff’s office to introduce the K-9, with a host of community representatives on hand.

Sheriff Mark Touville said he was excited about renewing the program and bringing on trainer Chad Nixon and Shain Nickerson, owner of 4NK9 in Bridgeport.

“We’re bringing it back,” Touville said.

Nickerson described the process of choosing dogs when they are about 10-12 months old through vendors in Europe. He said he flies there, where testing and selection begin. Out of 20 dogs tested, he said, maybe five make the cut. He said it takes six to eight weeks for “imprint,” which qualifies the dog for narcotics or explosives.

Nixon said the dog will serve a dual purpose in tracking and apprehension. The dogs train in Colerain, and if they do not make the cut, Nickerson said there is no problem finding them a home.

“Somebody else will buy them either as a pet or companion, or a lot of times we can do service dogs depending on what the task might be,” Nickerson said. “So, we do a little bit of everything.”

He also said he and Nixon are local and grew up together. Nixon also works as the K-9 handler for the Martins Ferry Police Department.

“It’s very helpful to have him right here with me,” Nickerson said. “We put a lot of heart and energy into it. This is our first one. This is our first team for the valley, so, very excited.”

The dog did not simply fall into the county’s lap, however. The Harrison County Prosecutor’s Office, with help from Prosecutor Lauren Knight, helped secure funding to outfit the K-9 unit vehicle. Ascent Resources also contributed, paying for the dog and the trainer, according to Harrison County Economic Development Director Nick Homrighausen.

Brent Riggle of Ascent said Homrighausen reached out to them, which got the ball rolling. Riggle said they had wanted to work with the sheriff’s office and first responders in the county. He said they had been looking for a project to support for more than a year and contacted Touville’s office to secure the deal. Homrighausen said the total cost for the dog and trainer was $15,000.

“Having a safe community is economic development,” Homrighausen said.

Knight said Touville led the way for the new K-9 unit, and she said it will help root out narcotics trafficking and assist with drug interdiction.

“It helps us with traffic stops [and] Sadie is just going to be an invaluable tool for the county,” Knight said.

She noted the Cadiz Police Department has two K-9 units, but they can generally cover only the village of Cadiz aside from emergencies. She called the county K-9 unit an “amazing resource for us” because it will be available during traffic stops.