Williston Police K-9 Unit | Video

Jennifer Joas | 2/29/2012

It`s been more than 30 years since the Williston Police department had a K-9 on its team. But thanks to one officer, and the community donating thousands of dollars, the agency is better equipped for narcotics arrests.

Molly is the newest member of the Williston Police Department. She started her training in Minnesota with the U.S. Border Patrol. Getting a K-9 division for Williston wasn`t easy. Dustin Bertsch started working towards the program five years ago when he joined the force.

"I`ve always liked working with dogs. They`re a great asset. They don`t call in sick. They don`t have personal days. They`re always wanting to work," said Dustin Bertsch with the Williston Police Department.

After years of research, Bertsch approached the Williston City Commission in October of 2010 and asked to start fundraising for a K-9 unit. Bertsch not only wanted enough money to start the program, but also to sustain it for the next five years. All of those expenses add up to be $90,000.

"It`s a large investment for an agency. With what`s going on right now, lack of personnel, we had to put the department`s funds towards something that we absolutely could not do without; that was the personnel that we were able to hire this year. So with the generosity of the community, we were able to get the canine going as well," said Bertsch.

In most situations, the average canine partner can sniff narcotics from about 50 feet away. Molly was sought after by several other agencies because she was able to detect narcotics from about 150 feet away.

Bertsch and Molly just completed a five week training course in Minnesota and they are officially certified through the U.S. Border Patrol to perform narcotics detection. Bertsch and Molly plan to go through additional training for tracking.

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