POUGHKEEPSIE – A Dutch Sheperd just over one year old is patrolling the city now after RA Kennels in LaGrangeville donated the pup. The four-legged officer, Liva, is partnered with the veteran officer and K9 handler, John Williams. Liva and Williams recently completed 14 weeks of K9 training at the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office K9 Academy, under the supervision of Master K9 Instructor, Deputy Bill McKay.
Liva is trained and certified in obedience, agility, tracking, building search, area search, article search, handler protection, and criminal apprehension.
RA Kennels specializes in Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherds and is owned by retired City of Beacon police officer and K9 handler Frank Pompilio. Frank credits his wife, Nikki Gullinese-Pompilio with being the expert on pairing dogs with their partners. According to Nikki, there is a special bond between dogs and handlers based on astrology. The breeding program, according to the kennel owners is “influenced by the positions of the moon while calculating the Math, Science and Synestry in conjunction with advanced pedigree research and other proprietary methods for every individual breeding.”
Officer Williams spent eight years with his first K9 partner, Ace, until the dog went into semi-retirement. Williams and Ace partnered up in 2015 and have proven instrumental in apprehending criminals and keeping Poughkeepsie safe. “Now that Liva is certified in patrol, tracking, and articles,” Williams said, “Ace will no longer be with me every day at work but will still be available for explosive detection until Liva completes that training (explosives detection) this coming spring.”
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