Mahaska County Sheriff Looking To Add K9 To Their Team
November 6, 2021
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem and Deputy Sheriff David Wilke recently sat down with Oskaloosa News to discuss the current fundraising to add a K9 to their office.
The advantages of having a K9 partner have been shown in movies and television shows from the earliest days. Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepard who was an early silent film star, to the children’s show of the same name during the 1950s.
By the late ’80s, Rin Tin Tin was now a police dog, fighting crime in their fictional city.
Real-life K9s have also evolved; training can be for either single-use, such as patrol or detection duties, or with some being trained for tracking.
Sheriff Van Renterghem says the K9 dog they look to acquire will be a dual-purpose dog trained to detect illegal narcotics and be there for officer protection and suspect apprehension.
Wilke would be the new K9 handler for the sheriff’s office, and he’s excited about the opportunity. “I’ve seen the benefits of what a K9 can do.”
“I feel like it’s going to be a very good experience,” added Wilke. “[I’ll] get to see the dog grow and learn as it’s going through its career.”
“I’ve always had dogs my whole life. I like dogs. I like being around them, and we’ll help out the sheriff’s office with a variety of different aspects,” added Wilke.
Right now, the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office has relied upon Oskaloosa’s K9 ‘Duke,’ and they’ve been there when asked. However, things like vacation or days off can be challenging when Duke and his handler Sargent Austin Rogers are not available. That’s when the sheriff’s office has reached out to nearby departments for help as well.
The process to help bring a dog to local law enforcement went into high gear back in 2017, when no law enforcement K9 was available to either the city of Oskaloosa or Mahaska County since 2012, and they relied upon other agencies for assistance.
Seeing the benefit to the community, Van Renterghem wanted to begin the process of continuing that resource for the citizens of Mahaska County.
Van Renterghem points towards the success that Duke and Sargent Rodgers have been during the past few years. “It’s amazing.”
“We, the sheriff’s office, we owe the police department for all the times Austin and Duke have helped us over the last four or five years,” added Van Renterghem.
As Duke approaches that mid-point of his career, the thought of not having that resource readily available to serve the people of Mahaska County was concerning. Wilke and Van Renterghem then began the research into bringing a K9 into his office.
Van Renterghem and Wilke both agree that if an area department needs their help, “I’ll throw my uniform on and come [help].”
Besides the officer protection and narcotics work, the aging population is something to consider as well. Those with dementia or similar conditions can become lost and confused, and K9s are valuable for finding those individuals.
“If someone wanders off and gets lost, they don’t have very far to go; they’re in the middle of a cornfield or a timber,” explained Van Renterghem. “The dogs are much more successful in tracking.”
Van Renterghem, during his career, has seen the evolution of police K9s. From the early days of when dogs were single purpose such as for narcotics or to officer safety and apprehension, K9s that were very aggressive.
Today, K9s come much more balanced, as evidenced by the abilities of Duke and his gentleness with the public, but still able to take down a suspect when needed.
When it comes to officer safety, Mahaska County Deputy Sheriff McCain can tell you how his K9 Khan played a vital role in his survival.
During a life-and-death struggle with a suspect, McCain could not release his K9 from his squad car during the struggle.
A passing motorist was able to help McCain so he could open the squad car door, releasing Khan. The K9 then subdued the suspect until other officers arrived.
Van Renterhem also referenced the value that Duke played in apprehending a suspect involved in firing his weapon at police in Ottumwa.
Duke and Sargent Rogers were part of that group that forced the suspect to hide, allowing the officers to eventually locate him and take him into custody. “If it had not been for Duke, they’d have not found that guy,” says Van Renterghem.
That kind of success has other communities raising funds for their programs, and many nearby counties and communities have been so successful that they’ve raised funds for multiple dogs.
With budgets in place for the year and the squeeze for every tax dollar pushing budges to their max, the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office has been reaching out to the public for donations to help make the K9 program possible.
Van Renterghem selected Wilke for the program, knowing his background with dogs and his family’s commitment to the program. “I know his wife and children are fully behind him.”
The goal for the project is $55,000.00, and any amount above that will be put into a maintenance fund for the K9 program.
Area businesses like H&S Feed and Mahaska Vet Clinic have already stepped up to offer support.
Besides the initial commitment, Van Renterhem says he and his office are looking at ways to help keep the program funded into the future beyond the current fundraising.
For now, if you have a donation and wish to help, the Mahaska County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has agreed to assist the Sheriff’s Office with this fundraising effort.
Any individual, group, organization, or business interested in donating to this project is asked to send their tax-deductible donations to the:
Mahaska County K9 Project
%Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office
214 High Avenue East
Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577
