The Mentor Police Department is deeply committed to using all tools at their disposal to help keep our community safe and K9 units are an integral part of that effort.
Officer Terry Wurgler has been with the department for 19 years and a K9 handler for the past 12. During that span, he was paired with K9s Titan and Achilles. Sadly, Achilles passed way due to an illness last year, but Wurgler was united with a new partner in April. We recently caught up with him during his rounds when he introduced us to K9 Ares.
What breed is Ares? He is a German Shepherd.
Where did Ares come from? Ares was born in Poland and sent to a facility in Michigan where I trained with him for six weeks.
What attracts you to this breed? I love the fact that they are so intelligent, loyal, hardworking, and beautiful. I’ve been lucky to have worked with a German Shepherd and a German Shepherd/Malinois mix and saw great qualities in both.
How did you know he was the one? It came down to three dogs that I really liked and there was something special about Ares that drew me to him.
Can you tell us a little about his training? He’s a dual-purpose K9 certified through the state of Ohio in patrol and special purpose. He’s trained in the detection of narcotics (cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine), suspect apprehension, tracking, area searches, article searches, building searches, and most importantly, obedience.
After spending some time with him, what personality traits do you see shining through? Ares is very eager to please, he loves to work and train as well as play. He is very social and seems to be chomping at the bit to get out and meet as many people as he can. We have been going through the department, dispatch, and Fire departments socializing him with everyone that we can.
Officer Wurgler assures us that they are both excited to continue their training, strengthen their bond, and hit the ground running on the road to help out the other officers not only at our department but surrounding agencies as well.
So, welcome officer Ares! We look forward to watching you make a paws-itive impact on our community!