The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department could soon be looking for a new deputy as well as a new K-9.
Sheriff George Lenzner informed the public safety committee Feb. 4 that Deputy Cody Vogue, the handler of Rascal, is going through a background check for a position with Menominee County.
“If he takes that job, we’ve looked at the dog as about two-thirds through his career, so I don’t think it would be worthwhile to train a new officer to take over this dog,” Lenzner said. “I spoke with SOS K-9, which purchased these dogs, and if he decides to go there, we would sell the dog to Menominee County. The dog’s worth $15,000 (new); we … said we’d sell the dog to them for $5,000. Of course, that money would go back to SOS K-9 to purchase the next dog.”
Rascal has been with the department since December 2021.
Lenzner said it doesn’t always work when a dog has a change in handlers, at least not late in its career.
Since its inception, SOS K-9 has purchased several K-9s for the sheriff’s department.
Deputy Jacob Ostrowski is the handler of Ruckus, the department’s newest K-9. The dog has been with the department since October 2024.
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