Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman introduced the new K9 Unit Friday, with the addition of three new four-legged officers.
The recent graduates from the Atlantic County John "Sonny" Burke K-9 Academy “Scent Class No.6” will serve the City residents in explosives and narcotics detection.
The single purpose dogs have trained for the last 16 weeks at the academy with their handlers and are eager to hit the streets and be of service to all of our residents and visitors, according to police.
The three K-9's were adopted from shelters or donated to the Ocean City Police Department. K-9 "Miles", a male beagle/hound mix, was adopted from a shelter in Tennessee, and took the long road trip back to New Jersey with his handler Sgt. John Vogt.
Ocean City Police Officer Clark, Sgt. Vogt, Mia Pancoast and Officer Johnson
K-9 Briar, a female chocolate Labrador retriever, and K-9 Penny, a female Belgian Malinois, were donated by Joe Nicholas, Director of the K9 Academy. K-9 Briar is partnered with handler Officer Joshua Clark.
K-9 Penny is partnered with handler Officer Jacob Johnson.
A large portion of the initial costs were covered through a very generous donation from Ocean City’s own Manco and Manco Pizza.
Supplies and medical support will be provided in part by our generous friends at Animal House Pet Store on Asbury Avenue and our partners at the Humane Society of Ocean City.
The K-9 Unit handlers and their K-9 partners are Sgt. John Vogt, winner of the Instructor Appreciation Award for demonstrating the willingness and desire to become the best K-9 handler through determination, self-motivation and dedication, and K-9 "Miles" (Narcotics Detection), Ptl. Joshua Clark and K-9 "Briar" (Explosives Detection) and Ptl. Jacob Johnson and K-9 "Penny" (Explosives Detection).
Thursday's graduation ceremony was opened with a rendition of the National Anthem, performed by Mia Pancoast, whose father Mark Pancoast is a Sergeant with the Ocean City Police Department. Thursday's ceremony closed with the Director of the K-9 Academy, Joe Nick, welcoming the officers and their loved ones into the K-9 family and highlighting the new and exciting paths that their lives and their careers will take with their dogs by their side.
Follow the K-9 Unit and all other OCPD officers, events and activities @ocnjpolice on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
