NILES — The Niles Police Department added a new member to its squad in late June and he is ready to unleash all he has learned to help protect local residents.

Wezyr, a 20-month old, full-blooded German Shepherd from Poland, was selected to join the team, after 11-year-old police dog Riggs, also a German Shepherd, was retired from this duty. Canine handler Officer Shane Daniel said the average police dog is retired around the age of 8 or 9, though it depends on their health and capabilities to do their role as a police dog.

To learn the skills necessary for his duties, Wezyr spent six weeks training with Daniel at a canine school in Lansing. The Niles Police Department is certified by The Association with Dogs for Law Enforcement. To keep his skills intact, Wezyr will attend monthly trainings.

Wezyr will be utilized for missions involving tracking, area and building searches, handler protection and in narcotics detection, which includes being able to pick up the scent trail of five different narcotics.

Police dogs have been used by the Niles Police Department for more than 40 years, assisting officers on some of the toughest of cases, including robberies, murders, assaults, drug investigations and missing persons.

Already, Wezyr has helped the Niles Police Department in numerous ways, including one successful narcotics search, which uncovered an undisclosed amount of marijuana and four felony apprehensions. In addition to serving the Niles Police Department, Wezyr will be utilized in assisting other agencies, including the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department and Michigan State Police.

Daniel has served as a handler for the Niles Police Department for nine years. Prior to that, he worked for the U.S. Air Force as a canine handler. At the Berrien Springs/Oronko Township Police Department, he helped to start their first canine program.

In his time as a dog handler, Daniel said he has observed a number of benefits that police dogs provide to their local squad.

“The biggest thing about K-9s are their presence and their deterrence that they create when we are dealing with the public,” Daniel said. “There is not really one specific benefit. His biggest thing is his day-to-day presence of being there when dealing with people.”

For example, Daniel said recently cops apprehended felony suspects in a case involving multiple warrants and counterfeit money.

“His presence in being there alleviated anybody fleeing,” Daniel said.

On June 25, city council members approved for Riggs to be transferred to Daniel for ownership. Police dogs are typically permitted to retire to their handler’s home.

Daniel said German Shepherds are among the breeds selected for the difficult work that comes with being a police dog.

“The German Shepherd has always been synonymous with police work for their loyalty and their smarts and their ability to do this kind of work,” Daniel said.