NEW BOSTON, Texas - Although the New Boston Police Department's first Narcotics K-9 Officer, "Bently," is less than 3 years old, he has already proven to be worth nearly seven times the value of his police training.
"Bently has already been able to detect and track between $70,000 and $80,000 worth of illegal drugs in traffic coming along Interstate 30," said New Boston Police Narcotics Officer Westin Fannin of his new partner, whom he has had for about the last nine months. "Bently is a German shepherd from the Czech Republic, and he was in Austin when we bought him."
Fannin said that the department paid $12,000 for Bently, who received part of his narcotics training in Europe before completing the rest in the U.S. The training, which collectively took about 18 months, made Bently a seriously proficient discoverer of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, meth and ecstasy.
"Bently is great at detecting all five of these types of drugs and we continue to make traffic stops," Fannin said. "Most narcotics dogs can work at least seven to nine years."
Fannin said he and rest of the department were glad to get Bently, especially since the amount of drugs run through the area of I-30 near New Boston has warranted a K-9 officer in recent years.
"The drug problem has been increasing everywhere, and our chief said the narcotics usage has given the department a very good reason for needing a narcotics dog," Fannin said. "We were able come up with the money because several different local organizations and individuals helped with the funds. Bently lives with me at the house and he's one of our family members now."