By Patricia Bogumil
Editor
Four well-groomed Hungarians with wet noses and pointy ears visited Rivermoor Golf Club in Waterford Saturday, showing off skills they’ve learned in this country, while also raising funds to help with their upkeep.
All four work as canine officers with the Racine County Sheriff’s Department.
The dogs were born in Hungary and trained for duty at a North Carolina facility used by the sheriff’s office for its K9 unit, explained Deputy Ed Drewitz, handler for his crime-fighting partner, Friday.
Also appearing Saturday with their human partners were K9 officers Murphy, Nitro and Nox.
All of the dogs are trained in drug detection, criminal apprehension, article retrieval and tracking, said Drewitz.
General Manager Troy McReynolds said Saturday’s “Hog Wild for K9s” barbecue and rib cook-off marked the sixth year Rivermoor has hosted a fundraiser to benefit a local charity or other worthy cause in the community.
Friday, Oct. 17, presentation
Drewitz and Friday will make another guest appearance, offering a community presentation at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 17, at Paws-A-Tive Choice, a private puppy and dog training facility six miles east of Waterford in Union Grove.
Because Racine County’s K9 unit functions completely on donations, fundraisers like those held at Rivermoor and her facility help pay for the dogs’ living expenses and medical care, explained Kathy Edstrom, a certified K9 Nose Work instructor, trainer and director for Paws-A-Tive Choice.
The presentation in Union Grove will be a more in-depth and intimate program for people, said Edstrom.
She will be talking about K9 Nose Work, which is a sport, and the “civilian” side of K-9 detection work.
“We teach our dogs to search for specific target odors as they work four separate elements: vehicle searches; containers; room searches and exterior searches.
“Police dogs also search these elements, but in a different fashion,” explained Edstrom.
Registration for the Friday, Oct. 17, K9 presentation at Paws-A-Tive Choice can be made by emailing Edstrom at [email protected].
Confirmation, with directions and additional details about the program, will be emailed back; or call Edstrom at (262) 994-3487.
To make a donation, checks can be made out to “Racine County Sheriff K9 Unit” and mailed to the K9 Unit at 717 Wisconsin Ave., Racine, WI 53403. More information about the Unit is online at http://racinesheriff.org/k_9.
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