Donation will bring canine trooper recruit to Palmer

PALMER - A new four-legged recruit will join the Alaska State Troopers in Mat-Su soon, thanks to a $5,500 donation presented to Palmer law enforcement officials.

Members of the Palmer Lions Club, in association with the Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union and a private donation from Jerry and Aedene Arthur of Bodenburg Butte, donated the money for the purchase of a new K-9. Sgt. Randy Hahn received the check in a ceremony in front of the MVFCU building in Palmer yesterday afternoon.

Hahn received the previous K-9 purchased by the Palmer Lions Club in 1997. Hahn's dog "L.C." (which stands for Lions Club), is a Belgian Malinois who was 3 1-2 years old at the time the Palmer organization purchased her.

"L.C." was placed in service as a patrol dog with duty stations in Big Lake and Palmer and assigned as the primary SERT (Special Emergency Response Team) dog for the Southcentral SERT team, trooper spokesperson Greg Wilkinson said.

In 1998, "L.C." proved to be a heroine when she was shot in the line of duty in Fairbanks. After SERT team members moved in on a gunman hiding in the woods after a 24-hour standoff. "L.C." was sent ahead to search the area, when she located the suspect and bit him in the arm. The gunman shot the K-9 with a .303-caliber bullet in the neck.

After three months of recovery, "L.C." was able to return to duty. She is currently assigned in Sitka at the Public Safety Academy along with her handler, Sgt. Hahn.

While troopers have not yet picked out a replacement K-9, Wilkinson said they will be looking at a number of dogs through a selection process. The new K-9 will perform double duty as a patrol dog and drug enforcement canine in the Mat-Su.

Trooper Jim Sine of the Palmer post has been chosen as the "human" half of the K-9 team, and troopers hope to have the team ready for training by May, Wilkinson said.