Benton County Sheriff Hosting Contest To Name Newest K-9

FOLEY, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Benton County Sheriff's Department needs help naming its newest team member.

The German shepherd future K-9 is from Slovakia, but he needs a Minnesota name. And they're asking the public to pitch in.

This 1-year-old German shepherd from Slovakia is the youngest member of his new team.

At the end of January, the dog and his handler, Deputy Sheriff and K-9 Handler Brad Kadlec, will begin their four-month training course.

"We'll be training him first in narcotics and then moving on to PD 1. It's agility, searching for bad guys, nose work and scent work," Kadlec said.

Soon he'll work as a K-9, but at this point he's still just a puppy.

"He's very social. He loves his treats," Kadlec said.

It's fitting then that this social dog would be named via social media.

"A couple days ago, we posted pictures of the dog and a little back story. We requested input for a name for the dog," Captain Kyle Dusing said.

The response was fast and furious, with nearly 400 suggestions pouring in on Facebook in just days. Impressive for rural Benton County.

This new K-9 is already popular, and soon he'll be a town favorite.

"You get into this job to help people. And what's cool about having a K-9 is you get to help the police and citizens of the same time. It's a lot of fun," Kadlec said.

The department will reveal the winning name in mid-January, and the person who made the suggestion will get to meet and take photos with the K-9.