Hyde Park Police K-9 ready for action

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Hyde Park Police Officer Alec Brandow and K9 Urso

HYDE PARK – The Town of Hyde Police Department introduced their new K-9 on Tuesday.  The nearly 2-year-old Slovakian Shepard, Urso, and his handler, officer Alec Brandow recently completed the Dutchess County Sheriff’s K9 Academy which is a 14-week certification program for the dog and its human partner.  Ursus translates into “bear” in the English language.

Hyde Park has not had a K9 unit since Sergeant William Truitt retired several years ago.  Chief Robert Benson had repeatedly asked the previous town board to provide funds to revive the program and the town board declined.

A few Hyde Park community members provided the funds to bring Urso to the department and the new town board worked with Dutchess County on a grant.  County Executive Marc Molinaro included $92,900 for the K9 unit when he recently released his first round of Municipal Innovation Grants (MIG).

The MIG funds sent Brandow and Urso to the basic academy and will also pay for the explosives detection training that they will attend.  Urso is already capable of performing the basic police K9 tasks including apprehension and tracking.   The Hyde Park unit will work collaboratively with other communities to detect explosive materials, as well as track firearms, ammunition, crime suspects, and lost and missing persons.

Hyde Park residents Ron and Cathy Lane donated $11,000 for the revival of the K9 unit and Jack Koschitzki, principal in the Renaissance and Eleanor nursing homes donated $2,000 ($1,000 from each establishment).  “Working with the donors and the county, we developed an in-depth plan that minimizes the impact on the taxpayers,” Police Chief Benson said.  “We couldn’t do nearly as much for the community as we do without the support and generosity of people like Mr. and Mrs. Lane.”

Brandow and Urso are currently operating out of a repurposed Hyde Park police SUV with borrowed equipment from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office until the new grant-funded equipment can be put into service.  Benson noted that “This dog is part of our community and is not just a ‘police dog’.  I look forward to having Officer Brandow and his four-legged partner attending events in town and making appearances at group events at the libraries and other facilities.  We want the people to get to know our newest officer.”




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