COLUMBUS – The program is only a little over a year old but the demand for the services of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Therapy K9 Unit is so high that Sheriff Dallas Baldwin has doubled its size from two dogs to four.
“Since we began this unit last year, the amount of demand for the service these dogs provide has been tremendous,” Baldwin said. “With our two new deputy K9’s, we will be able to serve even more people in need.”
The sheriff chose the annual WAG! Canine-oriented festival at Prairie Oaks Metro Park in western Franklin County on Saturday to introduce Kit and Woody, who took an oath of office and receive lifetime ID tags issued by Auditor Clarence Mingo.
Kit, a standard poodle, labradoodle Woody, and their partners – Sgt. Jason Ratcliff and Lt. Mike D’Errico – join Mattis, a yellow labrador retriever; and Stark, a German Spitz, as members of the unit, which responds to assist victims of crime or other situations.
Deputy Darrah Metz is Mattis’s partner and Stark’s is Deputy Tyler McDowell.
The unit was formed when someone pointed out to Baldwin that, while K9 dogs had been trained to perform a number of tasks related to solving crimes, apprehending suspects and finding missing persons, there were very few who had been trained to help crime victims.
The program is the only one in Ohio, Baldwin said.