Edinburgh police have a K-9 again for the first time in 40 years, and are planning to add a second

EDINBURGH — Edinburgh police’s first K-9 in nearly 40 years is now patrolling the streets after a donation was made in honor of a fallen officer.

Skye, a six-year-old Labrador retriever, was donated to the Edinburgh Police Department earlier this month. A formal dedication ceremony for the donation took place Friday at Guardian K9 in Columbus. Guardian K9 is a dog daycare, training and overnight lodging provider that also provides training for police dogs.

The donation was made by the 550 Foundation in honor of Charlestown Police Sgt. Ben Bertram, who was killed in the line of duty during a police pursuit in December 2018 in southern Indiana. The 550 Foundation was created to carry on Bertram’s legacy of protecting and serving the community and his love of police dogs by providing free K-9s, equipment and training to agencies in need, said Sean Pendleton, president of the foundation and owner of Guardian K9.

K-9 Skye is trained in narcotics and tracking, and her journey to Edinburgh police began last year. Her handler at the time, a friend of Pendleton’s, approached him saying his current police agency wouldn’t allow him to continue to use Skye’s abilities.

“He said her talents were being wasted and asked what we can do to get her to another department,” Pendleton said.

Pendleton did remedial training with Skye to make sure she was good to go. Once this was done, the foundation’s five-member board asked departments to send in applications for the foundation to decide which department Skye would serve. The board includes Pendleton, his wife, a sheriff’s deputy and two members of Bertram’s family, Pendleton said.

The board then deliberated before unanimously choosing Edinburgh as the recipient of Skye. Pendleton recused himself from this decision as he formerly worked for Edinburgh Police.

“I let the board deliberate and it was a unanimous decision for Edinburgh to get the dog,” he said. “I contacted Chief (Doyne) Little about it, and they were ecstatic.”

At Edinburgh, Skye will be on patrol with her handler, Officer Darren Koors, conducting narcotics investigations. Skye will also be used to help track and find lost children, and will not bite, Little said.

Since Skye began going on patrol earlier this month, she has been deployed over 20 times, has found narcotics eight times and helped secure eight arrests, Little said.

Skye will soon not be the only K-9 with Edinburgh Police. A second K-9, Kira, will soon be joining the ranks.

For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.