New Sheriff's K-9 officers participate in training on Tuesday

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- K-9 officers are smart, fast and can be used for virtually every aspect of law enforcement -- and do things people simply cannot do. But they need a lot of attention and a lot of training as they prepare for the most dangerous situations. FOX6 News was there when three new K-9 Sheriff's deputies took part in training on Wednesday, December 17th.

"They're a constant work in progress. We're constantly trying to train with them as many days of the month as we can," Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit handler Deputy Streicher said.

Bohdi was one of the new K-9 officers participating in training on Wednesday -- going through what deputies call a basic apprehension.

A deputy, acting as a suspect, wouldn't surrender, and it came down to his partner releasing the K-9 officer on the deputy.

"Whether it's inside or outside -- because in live situations our dogs could be exposed to any type of environment, we have to be prepared for that as best as we can," Deputy Streicher said.

During training on Tuesday, a dog named "Cajun" was walked along a wall in an effort to test the dog's sense of smell, and to determine whether Cajun can detect drugs.

"He's going to put his nose to it. He's going to increase his sniffing and start scratching at the area," Deputy Streicher said.

In the training session, Cajun found the drugs.

81-year-old Stan Kass visited the Milwaukee County Sports Complex on Tuesday, with his dog "Reggie" at his side.

Kass donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office's K-9 program after some of its service dogs retired or died.

"They've been excellent with us so this is our way of repaying them," Kass said.