All hands and all paws were on-deck today when ground was broken for the new K9 facility for the Lexington Police Department.
13 trained K9 officers and their Lexington Police officer handlers braved the cold on a plot of land just off Old-Frankfort Pike this/Monday morning where construction is set to begin for the new 3,800 square foot kennel that’s set to be completed by November. Sergeant David Sadler head up the K-9 Unit. “We are extremely excited about this. This has been a really long time coming. Our existing facility has been there for fifty plus years. It’s starting to show its age. It’s limiting us on even being able to further our unit and further our coverage and our benefits for the city because we’re full. The new facility is going to allow eight additional dogs over the course of time it’s going to mean better coverage for the citizens of Lexington. Plus it’s more room for our officers. It’s a state of the art facility. It’s all enclosed. It’s just a much better environment for the dogs and their overall well-being”
Sergeant Sadler said the new facility will be less stressful for the dogs which will hopefully extend the life of their service. The K9 officers are trained in general tracking and detection of drugs, explosives and vapor wake. Last year, the unit was called out for 800 incidents, 66% of those calls involved narcotics.
Mayor Linda Gorton, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers, Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt and other city officials were also at Monday's groundbreaking ceremony.