St. Joseph Department of Public Safety fundraising for new K9 Unit

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- The St. Joseph Department of Public Safety is fundraising to start a new K9 Unit for the local police department.

It has been more than 25 years since they had a K9 with the goal to restart the program to help find missing people, track suspects, and overall build public support. The department is partnering with FMK9, an organization that trains canines for law enforcement, and they are based out of Berrien Center, Mich.

Officer Ryan Streelman, a Public Safety Officer for the St. Joseph Department of Public Safety, spoke on the fundraising efforts and how to get involved.

"It opens up an opportunity for a lot more PR stuff. We have a lot of events here. I think we had roughly 104 this past year this summer. A lot of that, we can walk around with the dog downtown, visit with people, let them see the dog, pet the dog, ask questions, have more actual interactions with people." says Streelman. "So, we don't have a website up right now. If you have any questions, please contact myself or Steve Neubecker, our director. My email is [email protected], or you can contact us here at 985-0300."