K9 Colonel Joins Bennington Police Force

BENNINGTON - The streets of Bennington are being patrolled by a four legged officer that can smell trouble from a distance. Officer Erick Ericksen, of the Bennington Police Department, said his new K9, Colonel, has recently finished drug training at the Police Academy in Pittsford and has hit the streets with Ericksen. 3 year old Lab Colonel, a three-year-old American Breed Labrador Retriever, who wears his own badge and police vest when on duty, replaces another K9 who had to be removed from duty because of possible side effects from Lyme Disease medication. Ericksen's previous dog, Corey, was euthanized after biting the officer. The biting incident came after Corey had already been removed from duty because of at least two previous displays of aggressive behavior.

Bennington Town Manager Stuart A. Hurd appeared before the Select Board last November to inform the board that Corey had attacked two people, and the police department was looking to replace him with a different animal. On the first occasion, Hurd said the animal reportedly lunged at a patrol officer in the police department. The second instance involved a male intern who was bitten by the animal after the man disobeyed an order to stay away from the dog. Both Hurd and Bennington Police Chief Richard Gauthier concluded that the animal must be relieved of its duty, but after biting its handler, the decision was made to put him down. After looking at least 15 dogs, Ericksen said he finally chose Colonel from a breeder in New Hampshire. The two then attended and completed the six-week drug training session in April. Picking Colonel over other dogs was tough, said Ericksen. So tough, in fact, that Ericksen purchased one of the dogs he didn't select for police service as his own pet, which now lives with Ericksen and Colonel. "One of the dogs that didn't make the cut, he ended up staying with me because I liked him so much. Now I have three dogs living with me," said Ericksen. After moving in with Ericksen in January, Colonel was able to make himself at home right away. "He fit in really well. He runs around and sits on the couch and watches TV, just like a lab," he said. Ericksen said Colonel has many similarities with Corey, but there is one major difference. "There's a lot of similarities, but he's definitely a lot more hyper than Corey. Before (Corey) got sick — they're both about the same in terms of affection," he said. Colonel also has a knack for sniffing things out, just like Ericksen's previous animal, he said. "He has an exceptional nose. We've done about 15 searches and he's done really well. He needs to do a few more before he can get up to Corey's level," said Ericksen. There are of course a few things that set the two police dogs apart, according to Ericksen. The most glaring is Colonel's habit of using facial expressions to portray his thoughts and mood. "The one thing with him ... is his facial expressions. I've never seen anything like it," he said. Ericksen and Colonel will next spend another six weeks going through search and rescue training, and tracking and evidence recovery training sessions in Pittsford, said Ericksen. "I'm really looking forward to the tracking school. Just seeing him interact with scents on the ground, I think he's going to be an exceptional tracking dog," said Ericksen. After that, the duo will attend maintenance training days twice a month, and eventually attend an advanced tracking school, according to Ericksen.