Ace is on the case! Meet Ronceverte’s new K-9 unit
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
“I’ve always wanted to work with a K-9 ever since I got interested in law enforcement,” says Corporal J. King of the Ronceverte Police Department. “Now I get that opportunity.”
Cpl. King has been on the force for three years now serving the people of the River City.
“I just called Chief Hopkins one day and asked if he was hiring?” King remembers. “It was something I’d always wanted to do.” Hopkins advised him of the process, which included training at the West Virginia State Police Academy. King packed his bags a few weeks later and trained for sixteen weeks, coming home on the weekends for family time.
“They took our cell phones, and we didn’t know anything about the outside world during training,” he says. “It was nice in a way.”
King values that experience and recently completed a month of additional training…in preparation for his new partner–Ace.
Ace is a 2-year old German Shepherd that weighs 80 pounds. The Ronceverte Police Department received a grant to cover the cost of the K-9 program.
“He’s solid as a rock,” King says. “He’s still got a lot of teenager in him, but he knows when it’s time to work.”
Ace and King are not only work partners, they live together too. That’s all part of the process.
“You’ve got to form a bond between you and your K-9,” King explains. “That’s the biggest part of it.”
Ace is trained in narcotics, tracking, and apprehension, making him a full-patrol K-9 unit. While he’s stationed with Ronceverte and will principally work there, King says the local sheriffs or other municipalities can call on Ace for assistance as needed.
“He feeds off my body language,” King says. “My demeanor, the equipment I give him, it’s all clues he puts together to know his job.”
Mike Mayes at Battle Ridge K-9 trained Ace. “We couldn’t ask for a better trainer,” King reflects. “And Sgt. Williams of the Lewisburg Police Department continues to help me along the way with training too. I couldn’t do it without them.”
Patrolman Larry Anderson’s first day on the job was two weeks ago. He went out with Cpl. King and Ace, and he quickly saw the value in the team.
“Ace is a great partner,” says Patrolman Anderson. “He’s got your back, just like the officers. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”
