PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) – Maggie and Boris, two dogs that joined the Presque Isle Police Department in February, are already settling in nicely.
Boris is a German shepherd K-9 that works alongside an officer, and Maggie is a Newfoundland pup that is in training to become a therapy dog.
This spring Boris completed his drug training and has already been helping the department on numerous cases. In September he will go back to school for sixteen weeks for training in tracking, according to Presque Isle Police Chief Chris Hayes.
“He’s two and a half years old so he’s already done it for another agency in New Hampshire but he’s just killing it,” says Chief Hayes. “They’re fantastic at finding drugs, stuff that we would never ever find. A lot of people use hides nowadays in their vehicles and stuff like that that we would not find.”
Maggie has also started her training to become a therapy dog. The past few months she has visited local schools and senior centers to build her social skills.
“Learning her not to be distracted is the biggest part of her training,” says the Presque Isle Police Chief. “She’ll have a big exam coming up probably somewhere February or March of next year that she must pass to gain her certification, then from that point on she will be a certified therapy dog.”
Chief of Police Chris Hayes says the department is already seeing benefits from the two dogs.
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