Langlade County has a new four-legged officer in town, K9 Sheena.
The department gave Sheena her badge Wednesday, more than a year after it first received a grant to help fund their K9 program.
"This is a very big day for us as an agency. For 35+ years, the Langlade County Sheriff's Office has operated without a K9 unit," Langlade County Sheriff Mark Westen said.
As an almost-two-year-old, Sheena has a lot of energy, but has not mastered her responsibilities yet, as training for her and her handler, Sgt. Misty Servi, will be ongoing.
"It has been a progressive training; there's different standards that Sheena is required to meet, and it's an ongoing process," said Detective Sgt. Jake DeFiore.
The need had come up internally, and it's the department's goal to fund their K9 program without tax dollars.
"There are expenses that are going to be incurred, whether it be veterinary care, or food and sometimes sheltering, a K9 handler needs to be able to have some respite also," Sheriff Westen said.
The department accepted a donation from Badgerland Classics & Customs, and will welcome anyone else who wants to contribute to their efforts.
There are no immediate plans to expand beyond K9 Sheena, but she will bring skills in narcotics detection and tracking to the department, who had previously needed to utilize other agencies when situations called for K9 officers to help.
K9 Sheena now joins K9 Riggs with the Antigo Police Department as officers who now call the Langlade County Safety Building their workplace.
Westen says Sheena can expect to be seen as a presence in area schools, in case illegal drugs are suspected to be found there.
