Star City’s new top dog Abel, is able to do it all and has already assisted officers in finding illegal narcotics.
K9 Abel and handler Officer Travis Layton are part of Star City Police Department’s latest group of new recruits who started at the beginning of July.
Layton and Abel recently moved back into the area from Shinnston and came as a kind of package deal, Star City Police Chief Jessica Colebank said.
Abel and his training was paid for by Layton, who said he knew the one and a half year old German Shepard had “a lot of work life left in him.”
Layton said he hoped to join a department that allowed him to utilize Abel’s unique training.
“I would hate to see all that money just wasted when he could be used,” Layton said.
Layton and Abel earned their certification in May and are more than ready to use those skills.
Abel is trained in “basically everything you can imagine,” Layton said. The K9 officer’s talents include drug detection, tracking, apprehension work, and evidence recovery.
Since joining the department July 1, the partners in crime solving have already been deployed to a traffic stop where Abel found suspected heroin, fentanyl, and an assortment of prescription pills, Layton said.
It’s not all work and no play for Abel though. When not working, Layton said Abel likes to play ball, go for walks around their farm, and loves to swim.
“He’s a big water dog,” Layton said. “Anytime we go by the creek or the pond he is jumping in.”
Colebank said she was more than happy to bring the duo into the Star City PD.
“I was able to snatch them up before any other department, so I am excited and glad to have them on,” she said.
The department’s last round of hires brought them back to being fully staffed, which Colebank said means good things for Star City.
“A full department allows for more coverage of the town,” Colebank said. “We are now shooting to have two officers patrolling at a time, instead of one.”
Appropriate staffing is also giving officers the opportunity for vacation and time off to decompress.
“It’s beneficial all around,” Colebank said. “Police presence alone has drastically increased since they started on July 1.”
Layton and Abel said they are ready to assist the community anyway they can.
“We’re excited to get started benefitting the citizens of Star City and Monongalia County,” Layton said.
“We can go anywhere. If any other department needs help and they don’t have a dog available or there’s not someone else, they can ask for us.”
