New Berlin adds K-9 to village police force

NEW BERLIN – The Town of New Berlin Police Department will soon be adding a K-9 drug searching unit to its ranks. One of its officers decided to shoulder the cost of purchasing and training the purebred German Shepherd pup out of his own pocket.

Corporal Robert L. Jones is a three-year, part-time veteran of the New Berlin and Owego Police Departments and almost everywhere he goes, he is now followed by a 15-week-old Schutzhund German Shepherd named Bruno.

In just under 12 months, Bruno and Jones are scheduled to complete the required training for a Certified New York State Drug Detection K-9 dog at the Southern Tier K-9 Association’s facility in Binghamton.

Jones has dedicated his own free time and money to the project that will provide both departments he works for with a designated K-9 unit. Already Jones has spent over $2,000 in acquiring the animal and for its medical care.

“Why am I doing this? We need it, we just plain need it. It’ll make our job of local drug enforcement much easier here (in New Berlin) in the long run. We have serious drug problems in the local community and a dog can make a huge difference, not just here but in both New Berlin and Owego,” said Jones.

The two will travel to Binghamton to start the official training in about eight weeks when Bruno has matured more, but already Jones, who has prior K-9 training experience, has begun to condition the puppy to the basics of its future occupation. The puppy can already obey several commands, including sit and stay.

“I can’t begin to explain the value of having our own K-9 unit in the New Berlin PD. They’re worth their weight in gold,” said New Berlin’s acting officer in charge, Dominick Commessol.

Commessol said he and Jones had been “batting around” the idea of getting a police dog for the department for nearly three years.