NEW PALESTINE — When Officer Tyler Batton pulled over a driver for an infraction last week, he sensed something was amiss with the man behind the wheel.
While the young officer, who has been with the New Palestine Police Department since 2016, couldn’t see anything suspicious, he wasn’t convinced everything was good.
Batton thought the encounter might be a good time to run a check on the vehicle with the newest member of the department, a K9 officer named Axe.
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The 2-year-old Belgian Malinois alerted Batton to an issue with the car, focusing on the driver’s side. That allowed the officer to conduct an official search. Due to the dog’s behavior, Batton was able to find heroin in the car and arrest the driver.
If it had not been for an alert hit by Axe, his first alert on the job, the driver — and the drugs — would have soon disappeared, chief Bob Ehle said.
“Axe walked right around the car, got to the driver’s side, turned around, stopped and sat down and indicated something is in there,” Ehle said. “That gave the officer probable cause to search, and they found heroin.”
The New Palestine Police Department introduced Axe to the community at a recent town council meeting, where Batton showed off the dog.
“We’re best buds,” Batton said with a smile when asked to describe his relationship with the dog.
Axe loves to play with toys and really enjoys riding in the patrol car, something he does every time Batton is on duty. When Batton is off, Axe gets a day off too, living with Batton and his family. That includes Batton’s other dog, who spends time bonding with Axe.
Both Batton and Ehle said the dog, born in the Netherlands, is a very social animal. He was trained at the Vohne Liche Kennels in Miami County. The department had originally picked a dog from Holland named Hugo. But Hugo ended up washing out of the training program at Ultimate Canine in Westfield.
Officials went to Vohne Liche Kennels and selected Axe, who is expected to have a 12- to 14-year career.
“He’s a wonderful pup,” Ehle said. “He’s getting more and more social just being around people.”
It cost the department an estimated $20,000 to purchase and train Axe. The money was raised through donations. Ehle said the department has set up a forfeiture fund for asset seizures that will help sustain the cost of caring for Axe.
“Out ultimate goal would be for Axe to help in a big drug bust where then we could seize the money that could help sustain the program,” Ehle said. “Now that we’ve got the K9 program, I don’t want to let it go.”
They’re also thinking about putting on an annual golf tournament to raise money specifically for Axe.
The department’s ultimate goal is to get Axe into the schools to meet younger children. Axe has already joined county officials for a walk through Greenfield-Central High School.
The department plans to buy Axe a safety vest as soon as the dog stops growing and fills out more.
