The city has refused to fund the purchase of a K9 unit three years in a row, but the Mandeville Police Department hopes this will be its lucky year and the city will finally grant the funding request.

Officer Barry, the department’s last K9 who served nine years on the force, died several years ago, Chief Tom Buell said. About three years ago the department requested money to purchase a new police dog, which averages near $13,000 per dog. The measure ultimately failed each year.

“It never made it into the proposed budget,” Buell said. The 2009 proposed city budget recently released by the finance department has $12,500 allocated for the purchase of a police K9 unit.

Finance Director Milton Stiebing said officials added the K9 fund this year because of a 2-year-old $4,000 donation made by Mandeville Junior High School students.

Two years ago students rallied together and created special events like talent shows and bake sales to raise money to help with the purchase of a new police dog, Buell said.

They gave the $4,000 they collected to the city, but so far the money hasn’t budged from its account.

Stiebing said the city has allocated an extra $8,000 in the 2009 budget, along with the $4,000 to cover the expense of acquiring a new canine, but the measure ultimately has to be approved by the City Council.

Although the department is not experiencing unusually high drug crimes, Buell said having a K9 unit is a convincing deterrent for drug peddlers and even students experimenting with illegal substances on campus.

“We’ve had success in the past with the K9 and finding drugs at the school,” he said, elaborating on an incident where marijuana was found on a school bus.

The MPD currently has seven schools in its jurisdiction, including a junior high and high school, where they regularly perform narcotic sweeps using the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office K9 units.

Having its own drug dog again would eliminate the department’s dependence on the STPSO, increasing response time when the canine unit is needed, Buell said.

The K9 Buell is seeking will be trained as a narcotics dog versus an explosives detection dog, which he said costs several thousand dollars more.

He also said he has already contacted the location in south Louisiana where Barry was purchased about the availability of trained dogs. None are available currently, but if the funding is approved, Buell said they would likely have a dog available. It’s not about picking the cutest dog, Buell said. A chosen officer ready to devote his time and energy to housing the canine would have to travel to the facility and become trained at handling the dog.

The training doesn’t stop there, he said. Every year the dog undergoes regular training sessions to remain focused and obedient.

Currently, Covington’s Police Department has one K9 unit, Slidell’s Police Department has four police dogs, and the STPSO has eight patrol/ narcotic dogs, three bloodhounds and one explosives detection canine.