K-9 Hawk to be sworn in on Jan. 31
January 23, 2017
Written by Jeff Angileri | Photo by Craig Schreiner
UW-Whitewater police officer Kelsey Servi, left, introduces Hawk to Chancellor Beverly Kopper at her office in Hyer Hall on Monday, December 19, 2016.
Everyone is invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of K-9 Hawk, the newest member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater police department. The event is 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, in University Center, room 275.
Hawk — an Australian cattle dog — will help secure large-scale events and work with officers on campus.
"We have been utilizing explosive detection K-9s from other campuses for a number of years to enhance the safety and security of our events," said Matt Kiederlen, chief of police.
Thanks to a grant from Universal K-9 — a nonprofit based in San Antonio, Texas — campus was able to adopt and train its own police dog.
Kelsey Servi, who has served as a police officer at UW-Whitewater for more than five years, was chosen to be Hawk's handler.
"Kelsey demonstrated the strongest desire and aptitude out of the group of officers who applied for the opportunity. Kelsey has consistently demonstrated the ability to adapt to new environments, new challenges and is awesome at community engagement," Kiederlen said.
While Servi traveled to Texas in December 2016 to meet and train with her new partner, campus voted via social media poll to name the dog "Hawk."
Kiederlen said the department is ecstatic to have a K-9 join the department.
"Hawk is a great dog and Officer Servi is doing a great job fine-tuning his capabilities and helping him integrate with his new family."