New K9 unit joins Dartmouth Police

Jul 9, 2020

Dartmouth police add another K9 unit to their ranks as Officer Justin Amaral and his new K9 partner, Gunner, graduated from the Boston Police K9 Academy on June 26, according to a press release from the department.

Gunner is a 1½ year old Belgian Malinois.

The release stated that over the 540-hour, 14-week K9 training, Officer Amaral and Gunner learned about obedience, handler protection, evidence searches, area searches, building searches, and tracking.

The pair also received a National Certification from the North American Police Working Dog Association.

In the release, Dartmouth Police thanked community individuals and businesses whose donations helped add another K9 to the department. These include Lee’s Market, JLS Concrete, Home Depot, Kevin Santos, Walmart, Medeiros and Sons, The Rise Café, Mozzone Lumber, Fidelix Home Improvements, and Wholistic Pet Organics.

Police also thanked Massachusetts Vest-A-Dog, which awarded the department with a grant that paid for 80 percent of the new unit’s cost, including a bullet resistant vest and other K9 equipment.