Warren County Sheriff’s K-9 is recertified with new handler and ready to work

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After months of training and preparing, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office has another working K-9 and deputy team on the streets again.

About six months ago, the previous Warren County K-9 handler was given the opportunity to move to a new job at another department and Kilo the K-9 was left without a handler.

Shortly after, Kilo began his journey getting to know Deputy Jonathon Clark, the new K-9 handler selected for the county.

Switching handlers can be tough on a K-9, and the duo had to work together to build trust and affection between dog and deputy.

But on Friday, after months of training and preparing, Kilo and Clark were officially certified to get back on the streets.

“Whenever I got Kilo, he was already trained. It was really just about training me. But, again, I move differently than the previous handler does. My tone of voice is different than the previous handler, so just things like that. He also had an injury during the training so there were a few setbacks, but we did make it through,” said Clark.

Curtis Hargett is the supervisor for the Warren County K-9 program and also a former K-9 handler.

“There is no doubt that John is a proactive deputy. He enjoys hunting the illegal elements so to speak with narcotics and removing those from Warren County streets. So, it was a no brainer for us to choose Jonathon for this position. He’s going to do really well,” said Hargett.

Kilo is a dual purpose K9, trained to sniff narcotics and to apprehend.

“He isn’t a pet. He has a whole lot of energy. But, again, he enjoys the same things that a normal pet would. Oftentimes when we get done with training, I get home and open up the car door, he lays down on his side and wants me to rub his stomach, things like that. We’ll play fetch in the yard for 30 minutes until I’m exhausted and he just never stops,” said Clark.

Training for certification took the two longer than usual after winter weather cancelled training and Kilo suffered a leg injury and had to heal, but now that the certification is official, the two are both excited to get on the streets and serve the community.