FALLS CITY – Richardson County commissioners approved a second K9 for the sheriff’s office on Wednesday, the first day on the job for dog handler Sgt. Jeremiah Franks.

Franks: “I love working with dogs for one and I’ve worked with dogs all my life.”

Sgt. Zach Ractliffe has worked with a Dutch shepherd named Valor since 2021 and Sheriff Rick Hardesty said the unit has played an important part in averaging 500 to 600 arrests yearly.

Franks said the new dog, a black Labrador, will have the same skill set as Valor in terms of narcotic detection, but will also have a milder temperament for public interaction.

Franks: “Especially the lab going into the schools, it’s going to be  a much better temperament, easier to handle in that kind of situation, where a Dutch shepherd or Belgian Malinois runs about 100 mph.”

Sheriff Hardesty said the use of a dog has paid for itself by reducing the time it takes for deputies to conduct search warrants. He said the dog is able to narrow down searches so they take only a couple of hours, rather than six.

Frank: “I love everything that has been happening here at the sheriff’s office. An extra dog  is just going to help that tremendously and keep the drugs down in this county because once you control the drugs that are in this county, other things go downhill, thefts go down and other type of criminal activity goes down.”

Sgt. Franks and the black lab are scheduled to pair up for training in Iowa.