Mar 16, 2021 2 min read

A furry Tornado is making its way to South Strabane Township, as the police department recently welcomed a new officer.

Tornado, a 1-year-old Dutch shepherd that was imported from Europe, is the township’s first police K9, according to the department’s Facebook announcement Friday. He will be trained to assist officers with drug detection, search and rescues, and general patrol.

Tornado was one of 14 candidates from Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpsville, where he started his six-week training academy Monday. He and his handler, Patrolman Keith Zenkovich, are expected to graduate from the K9 training April 23.

“Out of the 14 dogs I was a part of testing, we felt his drive and willingness to work was extraordinary,” Zenkovich said in the Facebook post. “K9 Tornado is a very confident dog, and he just really made an impression.”

Zenkovich, who’s been with South Strabane for five years, has been a police officer for 22 years, 10 of which were spent as a K9 handler.

Police Chief Drew Hilk said the department was fortunate to have an “in-house expert,” as they started planning and budgeting for the K9 unit.

“We’re very fortunate to have among our ranks a veteran K9 handler, to know exactly what we could have in a program, how to grow it and how to benefit from it,” he said Monday.

Hilk said the first year of the program will be funded mostly by drug forfeiture and seizure money. He said the township and supervisors were “very supportive” of starting a K9 unit in the township.