West Chester adds new police dog to replace a K-9 retiring for medical reasons

K9 Jax joined the West Chester Police Department late last month thanks to a charitable donation from The Matt Haverkamp Foundation. He fills a vacancy left by the retirement of K9 Ciro. CONTRIBUTED

K9 Jax joined the West Chester Police Department late last month thanks to a charitable donation from The Matt Haverkamp Foundation. He fills a vacancy left by the retirement of K9 Ciro. CONTRIBUTED
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By Staff reports
Updated March 23, 2019
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West Chester Police welcomed K-9 Jax, a dual purpose canine donated by The Matt Haverkamp Foundation.

Jax is a 1-year-old German Shepherd certified in patrol and narcotics work. He becomes the 14th canine officer to join the West Chester Police Department since its K-9 unit was created in 1993.

The Cincinnati-area Haverkamp organization was founded in 2005 to support local law enforcement agencies and is named in memory of a fallen Golf Manor Police canine handler.

Jax is assigned to Officer Michael Blankenship, who was also assigned to retired K-9 Ciro.

Ciro, a German Shepherd who served with the department for three years, has been relieved of his duties due to medical reasons. On Feb. 26, the West Chester Board of Trustees officially transferred ownership of Ciro to Officer Blankenship.

Over his career, Ciro performed hundreds of tracks and more than 250 narcotic sniffs while also completing 1,000 hours of training. He worked with Officer Blankenship and Sergeant Brent Lovell during his service.

Rico, a Belgian Malinois, joined the force in spring 2018 with handler Officer Adam Roth. Rico and Jax now make up the police K9 unit.

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Staff reports