Town of Louisa law enforcement receives K-9 vehicle from neighboring Town of Culpeper

When Officer Aaron Adams joined the Town of Louisa Police Department, his Belgian Malinois, Dixie, joined with him.

The department didn’t have an active K-9 program, so with the support of Police Chief Ronnie Roberts, Adams began work to put one together.

Dixie, Law Enforcement Canine with the Town of Louisa

“Officer Adams had been raising Dixie as a puppy,” said Chief Roberts. “Adams had never worked as a K-9 officer in the past, but he enjoys his relationship with Dixie. He and his wife and two daughters brought her in as an addition to their family.”

With the support of the town, Officer Adams and Dixie began working on their preliminary K-9 training in Culpeper, where a number of other law enforcement agencies in the region participate.

“During this time, Officer Adams was also working diligently to acquire a K-9 vehicle for the town,” said Chief Roberts. “We were fortunate that our neighbors in the Town of Culpeper had a vehicle they had used for their canine program, and they were gracious enough to donate it to us.”

The department was able to make needed repairs to the vehicle and have the Town of Louisa decal placed on the sides.

“The vehicle included the canine cage and everything necessary to help us get our canine program off the ground,” said Chief Roberts.

Officer Aaron Adams and his canine partner, Dixie

“Unfortunately, as every community across the country deals with the opioid epidemic, our hopes are that we can try to address this in our community,” said Chief Roberts. “Sometimes in law enforcement you have to use as many tools as you can to combat issues in the community, and this is just one program we are hoping to use.”

Dixie is expected to complete her training this summer. While in the line of duty, Dixie will be covered under VMLIP’s Canine Mortality and Injury Coverage, which provides replacement cost for canines when killed performing specific law enforcement functions, as well as for costs of veterinary treatment for injuries when they are the result of law enforcement operations.

Learn more about VMLIP’s canine coverage here.