FARMINGTON, Conn. — The first day of school always brings excitement, but some of the students on the grounds of the Farmington Polo Club couldn’t contain themselves.
Mostly because the students are K-9 officers to be. Just as schools across the state began classes this week, so too did the East Hartford Police Department’s K-9 Academy.
“We have seven dogs from six different departments, and this is the first day of class,” said lead trainer, Sgt. Todd Mona, a veteran of the East Hartford Police Department.
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East Hartford police trainers teach teams from across the area – they use the vast open spaces at the Farmington Polo Grounds for some of the classes.
Mona, who is an active K-9 handler said, “This is a 12-week academy where departments get their choice of narcotics detection or firearms detection and, of course, they will be certified in patrol as well.”
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Officer Ally Finik, from the Windsor Police Department, will be teaming with new partner “Tiger” in the academy for the next 12 weeks and, hopefully, begin a career on the beat together after that.
Finik said, “It’s definitely a goal of I’ve had for a while and just being able to pull all the pieces of bonding together in day one is amazing.”
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Mona added that for the dogs and their handlers, just making it to the first day of the academy is an accomplishment.
"For these dogs to get here, the dogs have met a certain standard that I require, and I’m already seeing potential," Mona said. "These K-9’s will get called to every community and every town; these dogs will cover all of Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts.”
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Jim Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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