'Keeping human officers safe:' New fund created to support K9 teams for Northern Kentucky law enforcement

For law enforcement agencies in Northern Kentucky and beyond, police K9 units are an invaluable tool for crime solving and suspect apprehension.

"[They] Help not only with the officers on the streets, [but] keeping human officers safe, engaging in dangerous tasks so that the human officers don't have to," Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders said.

However, many departments have struggled to maintain and grow their K9 units as budget restrictions come into play.

WATCH: How new NKY fund looks to address staffing, resources, and training support for law enforcement K9s

"Your general startup from the beginning is about $25,000 to $30,000 to start a single dog unit within a department, and some of these departments don't have the funds, including here in the city of Villa Hills," Sgt. Sean Dooley with the Villa Hills Police Department told WCPO Wednesday.

To help close that gap, the Horizon Community Foundation of Northern Kentucky has introduced a new fund to support the purchase of K9s serving in law enforcement across the region.

Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders is helping lead the charge.

"When police budgets get tight, canine teams can be one of the first things that are either cut out entirely or maybe a canine that's due for retirement cannot be replaced," Sanders said.

The need for support doesn't end with buying the dogs. Training is also an around-the-clock expense. Police K9s are responsible for not just sniffing out drugs but also taking down suspects in use-of-force cases.

"These dogs are kind of like professional athletes ... I mean, do you think the Bengals just train one day a week? These dogs, the training never stops throughout their whole career," Sgt. Dooley said.

Departments like Villa Hills are looking to use the new fund's support to expand their resources and build out their K9 unit capabilities.

"We hope to broaden the canine unit with two dogs this spring," Sgt. Dooley said.

The fund also opens up new crime-fighting possibilities, like adding K9s capable of sniffing out electronic devices when investigating people suspected of possessing child sex abuse material.

"We have at least one electronic detection dog working in Boone County right now. It's something we're interested in bringing to Kenton County as well," Sanders said.

You can find more information about the fund or donate by clicking the link here.