The Chapel Hill Police Department is training a new canine officer to replace Ace after four years on the job as one of the Guardians of the Hill.

K-9 Ace’s career with Chapel Hill Police began in 2016. He is a German Shepard and Belgian Malinois mix that came from Slovakia through Ventosa Kennels.

In light of Ace’s retirement, the police department will soon be training a new K-9 officer: Mando.

K-9 Mando is from Poland through Ventosa Kennels in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. He is a German Shepard that will be trained as a dual-purpose canine.

K-9 Mando (Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill)

Mando will be trained in narcotic detection, tracking, evidence searches, building searches, and handler protection. The police department said they are “looking forward to a great career with our newest member of the Chapel Hill Police Department’s K-9 Unit.”

Mando will be trained by Ace’s former handler Officer Belcher.

The K-9 program is a lifetime partnership. Ace will retire with his handler, Officer Belcher, for the remainder of his life.

“We are sure he will help show Mando the ropes, and Mando will likely tell him the stories from the shift when he returns home to keep Ace connected to the career in which he served so well,” the police department said in a release on Friday.

Click here to watch a video Officer Belcher and K-9 Ace did  in 2019 explaining The Working Dog.

 

Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.

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