Police Dog Chuck Graduates From Training

After 14 weeks of training, the newest member, Chuck, is now part of the State Police Detect and Render Safe Task Force.

Chuck is a German shepherd and the backbone of the force’s , headed by Officer Tim Obuchowski.

The two had been traveling to Sea Girt, Monmouth County for nearly four months for the New Jersey State Police’s 26th Explosive Detection Class.

The class was not only to train Chuck in bomb detection, but also to see how well he works with handler Obuchowski.

“He did really well,” Obuchowski said. “He’s been working out great. There are no issues, he’s a great dog.”

Now that Chuck and Obuchowski are certified, the two are on call 24 hours a day for any emergency in their region of the state.

“He’ll be able to detect any type of bomb and any type of chemical you can make a bomb out of,” Obuchowski said.

Chuck joins 100 other dogs on the state task force and was one of 30 who completed the program Thursday in the State Police’s largest graduating class.

More than a year ago, Cinnaminson police applied for a Homeland Security grant to start a K-9 unit. They were and were awarded $50,000. That grant covers the dog, his training and new equipment for the unit.

Cinnaminson used to have a K-9 unit, but after the dog died, the funds weren’t there to sustain the program.

Public Safety Director Michael King, who started his new post June 28, said it was “really smart” of the department and township committee to approve the program.

“By having this here and having an officer trained so he can respond, to make sure you can diffuse a situation as soon as possible, it’s really priceless,” King said. “You cannot put a price tag on safety.”

King said the department will discuss sending Obuchowski and Chuck to another 19-week training session in the fall. There, Chuck would learn tracking and criminal apprehension.

“That would be very valuable and useful,” King said.