Newark- The Essex County Sheriff’s Office today celebrated and commemorated two members of its prestigious K9 Unit with a presentation of service awards to both the dogs and their handlers.
Sheriff Armando Fontoura and Robert Waltz of the U.S. Postal Inspector's Office presented plaques to K9 officer "Hanner" and his partner Officer Rob Sutton as well as K9 officer "Donna" and her partner Mike Tesei.
“Since the 1980's, our K9 unit has been an integral part of helping us keep the Essex County community safe and that is due to the work of dogs like Hanner and Donna as well as their officer partners, " the sheriff said.
"I can't tell you how many agencies around the state and country marvel at the work our K9 unit puts in daily. From doing weapons and narcotics searches to tracking missing civilians, members of the K9 unit are some of the hardest working members of our department."
Established in 1987, the Essex County Sheriff's Office's K9 Unit helps with operations in the field of narcotics, tracking and weapon/bomb detection.
Outside of just the Essex County Sheriff's Office, the Sheriff's K9 unit has been involved in operations for several local, state and federal law enforcment agencies.