Lately, a four-legged companion has been joining Leelanau County Deputy Jordan Strope on day patrol. Keno, a German Shepherd born in Slovakia and trained in Ludington, moved in with Strope just before Christmas and the two have been living and working together ever since.
Keno was trained by Fresh Coast K-9 in Ludington in narcotics detection, patrol tactics, and tracking suspects or missing persons. While the pair are already worked in the field together — Strope mentioned that his police dog alerted him to drugs in a vehicle while on patrol as recently as April 5 — they are continuing their training together as Strope exposes Keno to new locations.
“Dogs have to see it to be able to do it again, so ‘site pictures’ are huge for them,” Strope explained. “They’re not going to be able to do what I’m asking them if they haven’t seen the site before.”
