A new police service dog worth $10 thousand dollars has been added to the Fall River Police Department, and replaces the previous dog that retired from old age.

K-9 Joseph is an 80 pound, male German Shepherd. He was born in Hungary on April 23rd 2015. K-9 Joseph was a donation by Reverend Dr. Robert P. Lawrence earlier this year. He was selected out of 80 dogs from Shallow Creek Kennels in Pennsylvania. After being purchased, Officer Kevin Lopes began the K-9 Training Academy with the new dog, which was hosted by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department of Corrections.

The training includes, but is not limited to, article/evidence searches; tracking missing persons, or suspects; apprehension and K-9 Swat tactics.

K-9 Joseph has also received a K-9 Storm custom-fit SWAT ballistic vest, made possible througha $1,000 dollar donation by Aaron Lewis of Fairhaven and Sean Cabral of Fall River, in memory of UBU, a beloved Golden Retriever. There was also a $1,400 dollar gift by an anonymous donor.

Slider Photo: From left to right: K-9 Joseph, K-9 Officer Kevin Lopes, Sean Cabral, Aaron Lewis, and Rev. Dr. Robert P. Lawrence.