Middlesex K-9 reports for duty
Middlesex Township Police Department’s new recruit is 61 pounds and an estimated 20 months old.
He’s fast, he’s feisty, and he’s newly graduated from K-9 training school.
He is Bolt, the German shepherd.
Fresh from six weeks of training at East Coast Canine training school in North Carolina, Bolt started his first week on the job Monday with Mark Heider, Middlesex K-9 officer.
“He did well, he was named Top Dog for his class,” Heider said. “An instructor was giving awards at the graduation, and I was on my way out. They called Bolt’s name, I had to turn around and go back. I didn’t expect it.”
The K-9 class underwent strict obedience training, agility training, building search and tracking training, narcotics and drug detection and more during the intensive.
Bolt’s training was funded by grants and donations.
According to Heider, Bolt was born in Poland, and his commands are in Dutch due to being routed through a Dutch supplier. Commands to police dogs are typically issued in another language to avoid a situations where a suspect might try to distract a dog by shouting at it.
When he’s not on the job, Bolt is a typical dog, Heider said.
“He’s a pain,” he joked. “When you get these dogs, they’re not acclimated to house life; they’re used to a kennel. Once they learn, they’re good mooches, they lay on the couch and the bed. When he’s off duty, he’s just like a pet.”
Heider said he and Bolt are on patrol, answering dispatch calls and providing assistance wherever it’s needed.
“If there’s a call nearby where a K-9 would be useful, we’ll assist them,” he said. “We’re available to anyone who makes the request.”
