Pictured, from left, is Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton, K-9 Corrections Officer William McDonald and K-9 Deborah. Photo provided.
The K-9 Unit at the Clermont County Jail is an initiative that involved long-term research and planning, and as Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton describes, the program has been successful.
When The Sun spoke with Stratton earlier this year, he explained that the implementation of the K-9 program was not in response to a recent drug smuggling incident that took place between the jail and the county animal shelter; he noted that the incident was very isolated, and no narcotics were introduced inside the facility.
Rather, the K-9 program has been in the works for some time, before Stratton was elected to be the Clermont County Sheriff, succeeding former Clermont County Sheriff Robert S. Leahy.
This point further strengthens the program’s importance, as Stratton had the foresight to realize that additional initiatives and layers of prevention and precaution were needed.
Stratton explained that one of his passions, for decades, has been the K-9 unit.
“I had a bloodhound for nearly 10 years. Working with that dog has been the best part of my law enforcement career,” he said.
From that experience, Stratton knows the valuable services that well-trained K-9s and well-trained K-9 handlers can provide to a community.
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