Moses Lake PD hope to start K-9 program

The Moses Lake Police Department has never had a K-9 program before, but now the police chief is hoping to raise enough money through grants and the community to start one.

Chief Kevin Fuhr says the department is looking to purchase one patrol K-9 and Grant County has agreed to help them with the process, after recently fundraising enough to pay for three dogs.

"To start a dog program is a little bit shocking, it is about a $90,000 start up cost and the largest cost of that is for the vehicle. We've got to buy a vehicle specific for the K-9 program and outfit that vehicle with all the safety equipment for the animal," says Fuhr.

After the initial cost, Fuhr says it is a more manageable $2,500 a year for the K-9's food and vet bills. He says the dog would be able to help officers quickly find suspects in a tracking situation and help deal with more significant calls. Fuhr says although it is great the Grant County K-9's are available for their use, it causes a time delay and it can be a burden to the Grant County Sheriff's office.

The department has applied for grants to pay for about 2/3rds of the initial cost and the rest they are hoping to receive from the community. Fuhr says they have set-up a GoFundMe page or anyone in the local area can give the department a call and an officer will come to your door to pick up the donation.