Railroads donate nearly $15,000 to Scott County police-dog fund

The Scott County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday two railway companies donated nearly $15,000 to the department’s K9 police-dog unit.

A Union Pacific Railroad Co. representative handed deputies a $7,000 check for the K9 unit Wednesday.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company recently sent a $7,500 check by mail.

Deputies applied for the grants, Sheriff Rick Walter said.

“They both run through the county,” Walter said of the railroad companies. “We work closely with both companies and their special agents.”

Walter said the department will use the money to pay for upkeep and maintenance of the K9 officer and its equipment.

The K9 unit is not paid for using the sheriff’s department’s normal budget and is funded through donations and grants, Walter said.

The department purchased its dog using donations.

The department has an outfitted vehicle, complete with a hot-spot device the dog’s handler can use to release the dog out of a special door, Walter said.

The department has a Kevlar protective vest the dog wears, provided through a different grant program.

The K9 fund is needed, however, to pay for food for the dog, maintenance of kennels and training equipment and veterinary checkups, Walter said.

The department’s K9 unit is used for tracking — for fugitives and search-and-rescue operations — and drug searches, Walter said.

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