Methuen Police welcome new K-9 Bohdi to their department

METHUEN 一 Chief Scott J. McNamara and the Methuen Police Department are pleased to announce that Constable Griffin Waller has been selected to train with and be the handler for newest member of the department, K-9 Bohdi.

Bohdi is a two-year-old Belgian Malinois who was purchased with a grant from the United State Police Canine Association and the American Kennel Club‘s Reunite grant program, with matching funds provided by a generous company Methuen.

Grants and matching funds will pay for the purchase of Bohdi and the initial academy training of Bohdi and Officer Waller.

Additionally, Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog donated $6,540 to purchase a K-9 kennel insert and heat alert system for a cruiser to be used by Officer Waller and Bohdi.

Bohdi and Officer Waller will attend the Patrol K-9 Handler class at the Boston Police K-9 Academy Patrol Dog School beginning September 12. Once fully trained, Bohdi will serve as a patrol dog, which includes human tracking, evidence retrieval, construction searches and aggression control. After completing the Patrol K-9 Handler class, Officers Waller and Bodhi will have additional specialization opportunities, such as narcotics detection training and certification.

In the meantime, Bohdi bonds with Officer Waller, with whom he will live while the two are partners.

Bohdi replaces recently retired Methuen Police Department sleuth “Duke” and K-9 explosives detector “Buddy”, both of whom served the department with distinction. Buddy was picked up by Officer Tim Getchell. Duke was handled by Sgt. Matt Mueskes and Officer Rob Cubelli.

“I want to thank the United States Police Canine Association, American Kennel Club, Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog, and the generous Methuen Company for making it possible for us to bring Bohdi to the department,” Chief McNamara said. “I would also like to thank K-9 Duke, K-9 Buddy and their handlers, Sgt. Matt Mueskes, Agent Rob Cubelli and Agent Tim Getchell for their years of service to the Ministry. Duke, Buddy and their handlers worked hard to continue showing the value of K-9s to law enforcement and the community.

To learn more about the United States Police Canine Association, visit: https://www.uspcak9.com/about.

To learn more about the American Kennel Club’s Reunite program, visit: https://www.akcreunite.org/k9/.

To learn more about Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog, visit: https://mavestadog.org/vests/.