For the first time, Washington Township will have a police dog as part of its police department.
On Thursday, District Justice Jason Buczak swore in new Patrolman Dylan Keffer and his police dog, a German shepherd named Dirk, during the township supervisors’ meeting.
Supervisors Chairman Rich Gardner confirmed Dirk is the first dog to be part of the department, something Keffer finds gratifying.
“I feel honored,” Keffer said. “I feel we’ll both make the township proud. We’re a good team.”
It’s a team that has been together for the past 2½ years as part of the Delmont Police Department, where Keffer served for 10 years overall.
“I’ve known Dylan for a good while, and when we had an opening I contacted him,” Chief Jason Montgomery said.
Montgomery said he was not looking to add a K-9 unit to the department. But if he wanted to hire Keffer, Dirk was part of the deal.
“He’s a fantastic asset,” Montgomery said.
When asked if he was talking about Keffer or Dirk, a grinning Montgomery replied, “Both.”
Keffer said Dirk has multiple certifications, including narcotics, article searches such as weapons and other evidentiary items, building searches, tracking and apprehensions.
Montgomery said that, although Keffer is trained as a K-9 officer, he will be paid at the starting rate specified in the police contract, which is about $65,000 per year.
Gardner said the supervisors did not include a K-9 unit in the township budget, but Montgomery said the department will address those costs.
“We’re going to start a fund for the K-9 unit,” he said. “In fact, we had a resident donate $1,000 to it today, so we’re off to a good start.”
He said the department will hold some type of fundraiser to build up that fund as well as seek more donations.
Aside from his time on the Delmont police force, Keffer said he also worked for Springdale Township, now part of the Allegheny Valley Police Department, and Lincoln Borough.