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Community Donations Help Burnsville Police Get New K9

BURNSVILLE (WCCO) -- The Burnsville Police Department now has two police dogs thanks to the generosity of the community.

A 1-year-old German shepherd named Razor started his new job with Officer Brian Hasselman last Friday, after completing a 12-week training course at the Police Canine Training Center in St. Paul.

They join Burnsville's other K9 partners -- Officer Ben Archambault and his dog Echo, who have been working together over a year with the K9 Division.

Burnsville Police Sgt. Bentley Jackson, a former K9 handler who now oversees the K9 division, said they were able to get the two dogs mainly through donations from the community.

He said a fundraising campaign started in 2009 when the police department needed to replace two retiring dogs.

The city raised more than $25,000. That money went to paying for each untrained dog which costs around $7,500 because they are bred from a bloodline of police German shepherds imported from Europe. Extra funds went to training and equipping the dogs and their handlers.

Jackson said the dogs are very cost effective, about $2,000 a year after the first investment.

Most typically patrol for 5-8 years if they aren't injured or get an illness.

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