COLUMBUS – The newest member of the Dublin Police Department is ready to begin sniffing out crime.
Finn is a two-year-old Belgian Malinois-German Shepherd mix who is now working with his handler, Officer Justin Chappelear, as a dual purpose narcotics K9, the department announced Monday.
The pair completed a 12-week training course in Pennsylvania and Finn now answers to commands, though only in Dutch, according to department spokesman Cameron Keir.
Chappelear, a seven-year veteran with the Dublin police who says he has wanted to be a dog handler from a young age, was selected as Finn’s handler in 2017.
In addition to general patrol duties, the partners will also be involved in narcotics detection, searches and suspect tracking, and criminal apprehension.
In just over two months on patrol, department officials say the K9 team has helped seize drugs or drug paraphernalia from 50 vehicles.