K-9 Pogo big hit with Poland Township Police Department
POLAND TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKBN) – Police in Poland Township are celebrating the birthday of their K-9 officer Pogo and the success she's had on the job.
Pogo is a Dutch-Shepard-Pitbull mix that turned 4 on Tuesday.
Officers obtained Pogo two years ago through an animal rescue operation after she had been abandoned. Now, she is state-certified to locate narcotics as well as track humans, and recently helped officers make several arrests on drug and gun charges.
'She has multiple finds while working the roads. As far as narcotics go, and actually as of recently — last week, I believe we had two finds. It's ongoing, and she does a great job for us. She does exactly what we trained her to do,' said Officer Ethan Moncilovich.
Because Pogo was a rescue animal, the department obtained her and have her trained for free.
Donations pay for her food and veterinary care.
The Department is hoping to find another rescue to add to their K-9 unit in the future.
'Not all K-9s are super friendly and super social, so we like to have her out for community events. I take her to schools. I take her everywhere with me. The community loves her. I'll get stopped and flagged down while I'm working for people who want to come and meet Pogo, and I absolutely let them,' Moncilovich said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
16 minutes ago
- Forbes
Aston Martin 'Spy Car': Spy And Mistress Tour Europe Stealing War Plans
Now "Ulster bodied", this Aston Martin's wartime spy secrets can now be revealed. Tell me the plot, I say. "A British Army intelligence officer drives around Europe, just before World War 2, with his mistress, who's actually somebody else's wife and pretending she's Dutch, but really German," says retired construction company CEO Neil Pickstone. "They're masquerading as tourists in a 1935 Aston Martin, which has been fitted with secret compartments engineered by Aston and the Royal Automobile Club. "They befriend young, wealthy German army officers, steal German war plan documents, take photos of military installations, smuggling them back to Britain in those hidden compartments, and never get caught despite being stopped and the car being dismantled by the Gestapo." It sounds like a Netflix or Apple TV thriller. Except it's true, actually rather more extensive, and thoroughly documented, coming to light when two men from Cheshire, England, Pickstone and friend Simon Isles, bought the seen-better-days Aston in 2022. They'd been told the car was used to smuggle currency out of Nazi Germany, but became increasingly aware things didn't add up... Originally an Aston Martin Mark 2 Sports Saloon, the spy car chassis is retained under the "Ulster" ... More body. The car is now a faithful recreation of an "Ulster-bodied" 1930s Aston Martin race car. In the hands of British Army intelligence officer Robert William Fenton "Tony" Mellor it was a 1935 Aston Martin Mk2, but the original body way beyond repair. So Pickstone and Isles rebodied it, but retained its secrets. "Its original owner, Lieutenant, later Major, Mellor was born to a wealthy family. Come the threat of a second World War, back then there was no government budget for intelligence work. Much of it was self-funded by well-off military officers," said Pickstone. "Buying the Aston Martin in 1937, at 25, was a considered decision: in 1930s Germany, army officers were also from wealthy backgrounds. They enjoyed racing their cars, so when Mellor and mistress Ellen Magnee turned up in Germany in the the Aston, seemingly as rich tourists, German officers recognised it as a fast car and engaged in conversation; Mellor got to know them, taking opportunities to gather all sorts of intelligence". The only known image of Major Tony Mellor and his Aston Martin "spy car" comes out of storage. In parallel with deceiving German military officers, Mellor was developing close ties to the French Resistance. The Aston Martin became key to some of their missions, so appearances, especially during night-time car-bound exploits, were crucial. Fenton fitted Bosch headlights to replicate the look of a German staff car at night. He also stole a German military vehicle "exhaust whistle", diverted exhaust gasses sounding their imminent arrival at checkpoints, barriers lifted in advance, Mellor and his French Resistance passengers hurtling through at 80mph leaving guards little chance of spotting the night-time ruse. Such antics were just part of the documented story, archived in files that came with the Aston and in Mellor's Cheshire Regiment museum. "The car came with a story about helping Jewish people pre-war, smuggling silver and currency out of Germany," said Pickstone. "It came with the secret compartments, the altered exhaust, and all the bits and pieces that made it special. "But the story about smuggling currency was fabricated. This was a spy story." Pickstone and Isles knitted together Mellor's memoires, the car's history file and archived accounts of then-fellow officers to piece together an extraordinary tale. It also raised the question of why, when a senior officer spoke about recommending Major Mellor for the Victoria Cross (the highest military bravery honour) there was a resounding silence from then military chiefs. However, Mellor was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Vermilion Star for his contribution to the French war effort. One of the secret compartments, the large tube, in situ. The Gestapo missed its hidden secrets even ... More after dismantling the Aston. In the car's file is a letter from Aston Martin to Mellor. It notes his attendance at the Aston Martin factory where he was instructed in repair and maintenance of the car on his European "tours". "The letter to Mellor is for, whatever purpose, from Aston Martin to confirm he spent time working in the factory on his car. We believe it's to document what he'd allegedly been doing for six weeks while out of barracks. We believe he was actually designing secret compartments," said Pickstone. "The first modification was a cross tube on the chassis. It had a locking mechanism that couldn't be spotted unless you knew what you were looking for," said Isles. Meanwhile, the Royal Automobile Club provided a battery. It worked normally, but also had a hidden compartment. "Just pre-war he was travelling around Europe with Ellen Magnee and got stopped by the Gestapo. They stripped the car, but found nothing," says Pickstone."In the archives there's evidence he said it was a good job because he had the plans for the Siegfried Line hidden in the secret compartments." The restored German Army officer staff car exhaust whistle. Mellor Captures 500 German Soldiers On His Day Off While he left the Aston in Holland for much of the war, his antics continued. He was one of the first British soldiers onto Sicily in 1943 where he is believed to have had a brief dalliance with a local countess. But he was also part of the spearhead during 1944's Normandy landings. "Soon after he was granted 24 hours leave to see 'friends' in a nearby village. He took a wireless man, a jeep and a driver. We believe he was meeting a previous girlfriend, and to gather intel about what the Germans were doing," said Pickstone. "En route they came across the Eighth Army, parked up approaching a bridge where there was a report of a German Tiger tank which had destroyed several Allied tanks. The commander of the Sherman tank at the head of the column refused to go any further. "Mellor and a French freedom fighter went to have a look, but the 'Tiger' was just a tracked vehicle. They captured it, just as a German staff car appeared; the Sherman opens fire, the staff car crashes, and the occupants captured too. "More freedom fighters appeared and proceeded to capture 200 Germans in the woods, locked them in a barn while they went to help defend a nearby town, but ended up capturing 300 more German soldiers. 'They were terrified of the French, so wanted to surrender to a British officer. Mellor ended up capturing 500 Germans on his day off...' The question remains: was Major Mellor the inspiration for James Bond? While it's mainly Cheshire lanes that pass under the Aston's wheels these days, you wonder what other tales of derring-do war-time archives, due to be opened under the UK Government's "100 year rule" in the 2030s, could reveal. Major Mellor retired to an Oxfordshire village, but evidence remained of his past. Upon his passing, his cottage was sold, the new owners discovering a secret compartment in the basement, evidently designed to store the tools of a spy's trade. Asking Pickstone and Isles if they thought Mellor, a neighbour of 007 creator Ian Fleming, a fellow intelligence officer, was the basis for James Bond they simply said I should draw my own conclusions. I'll simply let you draw yours...
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ohio House passes human trafficking bill
(WKBN)- The Ohio House has passed a bill to toughen penalties for human trafficking. The Human Trafficking Prevention Act raises the minimum prison sentence from 10 to 15 years. For cases involving minors or people with developmental disabilities, it increases to up to 25 years to life. Local representative Nick Santucci co-sponsored the bill. It now moves to the Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Buona Forchetta reopens following workplace enforcement operation
SAN DIEGO (FOX5/KUSI) — Buona Forchetta in South Park was back to business on Wednesday following a brief closure as a result of a workplace enforcement operation that was carried out by immigration officials last Friday. 'We came to support Matteo. I mean, we've been a customer of Buona Forchetta since 2014 when we first moved to San Diego,' said Dale Haas, a long-time customer. Haas and Jason Gagnom were among the first to eat at the restaurant Wednesday after immigration officials conducted a workplace enforcement operation at the business. PREVIOUS: Buona Forchetta to close temporarily following ICE raid in South Park Federal agents were met with community members protesting their investigation. The raid ended with flashbangs and a shaken-up community. 'It was just unnecessary. The way this was done was just absolutely unnecessary,' said Gagnom. They say they know all the employees at the South Park location where the raid happened feel like something happened to their family. 'They've invited us for Christmas, we've spent special occasions, birthdays…I would say hundreds of times we've come here…holidays,' they said. 'We always feel like this is a family place. Anytime we have guests in town, we always bring them to Buona Forchetta.' Outrage and solidarity after ICE raid shakes South Park restaurant The search warrant released this week shows the investigation dates back to 2020, when Homeland Security Investigations received a tip that the restaurant's owner was hiring immigrants in the country illegally and asking them to work long hours. Homeland Security Investigations received another tip in January, accusing the restaurant of hiring people in the country illegally and using fake names on work schedules. Investigators say that the restaurant submitted fraudulent green cards when asked to turn over employee I-9 forms. As a result of the raid, at least two employees were taken into ICE custody. 'We believe in what Trump is doing and his message is, 'We're not going to stand for it,'' said Pedro Gonzalez, a customer. While Gonzalez said he supports the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, he was thinking of the restaurant while in town and wanted to support it. 'Every business has an overhead cost and just because unfortunately, they had people working they maybe or maybe not…we don't know…shouldn't have been working here, we don't know that,' he said. 'Of course, that's going to be determined at a later date, but we're still going to support the business. It has amazing food.' In a statement released Monday, Buona Forchetta said it received a copy of the warrant and is in the process of reviewing it with its legal counsel. It said it will provide further comment as appropriate after review. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
