Middlebury PD loses dog, will hire officers

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury’s police dog program faces an uncertain future as newly appointed Vergennes Police Chief George Merkel. a Middlebury police officer, will be bringing his K-9 Akido with him to the Little City.

Merkel established Middlebury police’s K-9 program around five years ago, beginning with Blade, an animal he had inherited from a Vermont State Police trooper who had been deployed overseas with a National Guard unit. Blade has retired, but was replaced last June by another dog, Akido. Merkel owns both dogs.