Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section Welcomes Dutch Shepherd Named Zara

Published on June 01, 2020

Zara, an energetic, 19-month-old Dutch Shepherd born in The Netherlands, is the newest addition to the Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section.

Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section Detective Mark Slinger with Zara, the newest dog to join the section. Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section Detective Mark Slinger with Zara, the newest dog to join the section.

The Sheriff's Office obtained Zara from Upstate K-9, Inc. in Rochester, New York, and she will be handled by Morris County Sheriff's Office Bureau of Corrections Detective Mark Slinger, who was assigned to the K-9 Section in March.

Detective Slinger said that Zara “ who weighed in at 51 pounds during her first veterinary visit last week “ has already shown a bubbly personality.

She's a bundle of joy, he said.

Zara will undergo agency training over the next six months to be a patrol dog, followed by another four months of training to be a narcotics-detecting dog. Right now, Detective Slinger said, he and Zara are working on obedience and bonding as handler and K-9 partner.

She has nice drive and a good social temperament with everyone, said K-9 Section Detective Corporal Michael McMahon, who will oversee Detective Slinger's training with Zara.

Zara, a 19-month-old Dutch Shepherd, recently joined the Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section. Zara, a 19-month-old Dutch Shepherd, recently joined the Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section.

The K-9 Section currently has 13 dogs whose specialties range from patrol and narcotics, to search and rescue, to accelerant and explosives detection. The Morris County Sheriff's Office K-9 Section is a shared service that is available to all 39 municipalities in Morris County.

In 2019, the K-9 Section responded to 1,117 call-outs. So far this year, K-9 teams have responded to 225 calls “ lower because of stay-at-home mandates and quarantines necessitated by COVID-19.

We welcome Zara to the highly-skilled K-9 Section. All the dogs in the section are our partners in law enforcement and give us the ability to enhance investigations, curtail crime and find missing people, Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said.

The K-9 Section recently garnered national recognition when Detective Corporal McMahon and his K-9 partner Kai “ known as #Teamkai “ captured the title of America's Top Dog by winning an ultimate obstacle course and breaking speed records on the A&E Network's reality show series called #AmericasTopDog.

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