WEST FARGO — A new officer named Thor will be sworn into the West Fargo Police Department.
K-9 Thor is an 18-month old German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois cross from the United States.
Thor and his handler, Officer Matthew Oldham, are certified in narcotics, patrol and tracking. Thor was sponsored through an anonymous $15,000 donation to the K-9 Unit.
“The West Fargo Police Department is incredibly fortunate to have amazing support from the community,” said Chief Denis Otterness in a statement. “Through a generous donation such as this, we are able to enhance our ability to protect and serve the residents of West Fargo.”
Thor and Oldham will officially join the K-9 Unit after completing a four-week training course together in Iowa.
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Thor received an additional five months of training before being paired with Oldham. Thor will replace K-9 Macho who retired with the promotion of Pete Nielsen to assistant police chief.
The West Fargo Police Department has three K-9’s and handlers within the unit. The three K-9’s were deployed over 200 times in 2021. The K-9 Unit helps protecting officers, locating drugs, tracking suspects and participating in community events.
When not at work, the K-9s live with their handlers and are a part of their families.
Readers can reach West Fargo editor Wendy Reuer at wreuer@forumcomm.com or 701-241-5530 . Follow her on Twitter @ForumWendy .
