Lebanon Police's K9 Blesk is fully certified in drug detection and patrol work. K9 Blesk was purchased from Connecticut K9 last December after the loss of Max, Officer Jeremy Perkins’ first K9 partner. (Courtesy Lebanon Police)
Lebanon Police's K9 Blesk is fully certified in drug detection and patrol work. K9 Blesk was purchased from Connecticut K9 last December after the loss of Max, Officer Jeremy Perkins’ first K9 partner. (Courtesy Lebanon Police)

Lebanon — The Lebanon Police Department has added two new K-9s to its force.

Officer Jeremy Perkins and K-9 Blesk recently completed training, and Blesk now is certified in drug detection and patrol work, according to a news release. Perkins formerly worked with K-9 Max, who died in December.

Officer Nick Alden and K-9 Nitro will head to training in January. Nitro also is going to drug detection school.

Both dogs were purchased from Connecticut: Blesk, a Belgian Malinois, for $7,000, and Nitro, a Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix, for $3,500.

The cost of a police dog varies based on its breed, pedigree and any initial training the dog may have received, Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello said.

The dogs were paid for out of the department’s operating budget, he said.

The department invites the public to meet the newest members of the Lebanon Police Department from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at West Lebanon Feed and Supply.