DORA —Dora Police Department added another weapon in its fight against drugs in the city. Yogie, a 17-month-old German Shepherd trained in narcotics detection as well as tracking and trailing of suspects, hit the streets with his handler and trainer, Officer Ronnie Phillips. The duo began working for DPD last Friday and have already performed a number of searches, including tracking a suspect in a burglary.

“This gives us the advantage of having a drug dog here on call 24/7,” Dora Police Chief John Duchock said. “We’re planning on using him for interventions in schools, at DUI checkpoints, serving warrants and any type of escapee we may have. We no longer have to borrow dogs from everybody else, and it didn’t cost the city anything to train. This is a deterrent for drug dealers and traffickers.”

Previously the department had to borrow dogs from other area departments to perform routine drug searches, but Duchock said this will enable a quicker response time for the city’s patrol officers. He also said Yogie and Phillips will enable the department to cover searches at Dora High School more effectively.

“One dog just can’t cover the entire school and parking lot effectively,” Duchock said.

In addition to the narcotics detection, Phillips said Yogie is one of only a couple of certified search and rescue dogs in the county.

He trained Yogie with help and guidance from K9 Specialty Services.

Phillips also said that he has connections within the search dog field that will enable the department to use other dog teams if they need cadaver or other search capabilities.

“It just opens up a branch of communication and gives us access to other possibilities because of my connections,” Phillips said.