04-05-2025
Nelson County Sheriff's Office sells K-9 plushies to support community-funded K-9 program
May 3—NELSON COUNTY — Continuing its mission to support a K-9 program solely on community donations, the Nelson County Sheriff's Office is selling look-alike plushies of its K-9 Raith.
"We got 250 of them, and we're selling them for 25 bucks apiece," Sheriff Kurt Schwind said. "All funds will go toward the K-9 program."
Approximately 20 have already sold in less than a week, Schwind said. He finds this unsurprising for a couple of reasons. First, his agency got the idea from Benson County, where he said the plushies sold "like hotcakes."
Second is the sheer volume of support his agency received while fundraising to get the program started in the first place. It cost $15,000 to purchase K-9 Raith and train both her and her handler, as well as an additional $50,000 for a vehicle that's outfitted for a K-9.
The amount of support the sheriff's office has received throughout the process is overwhelming, Schwind said. The agency was able to raise enough money in approximately 18 months.
"We've gotten donations from $5 to $4,000, and every little bit helps," he said. "Everybody wants to be part of it, and that's what's awesome about the whole thing."
American Legion posts out of Lakota and Devils Lake have supported the ongoing fundraising effort by donating the money to purchase the plushies, which are sold by Hero Industries.
"And then, once we run out, the Legions told us to come back and ask for more money to get more dogs," Schwind said.
He hopes to distribute the plushies throughout community stores and other locations to give the fundraiser more visibility. For now, they're available at the sheriff's office, which is located at 210 B. Ave. SW, Ste. 102 in Lakota, and at the courthouse, located in the same building in suite 203.
Funds raised through the sale of K-9 Raith plushies will help cover care and maintenance costs, such as vet bills, food, grooming and vehicle maintenance. It will also help cover the 30 minutes of overtime per day that her handler is paid.
Schwind hopes to keep these costs out of the county budget for as long as possible, because they may necessitate a tax increase.
"The longer we can keep her off the budget, I think, the better off we're going to be, as far as just having community support, having our commissioners on board with us and that kind of thing," he said.
K-9 Raith has certainly proven her value in the six months since she joined the sheriff's office, according to Schwind. She was instrumental in apprehending the double homicide suspect on the Spirit Lake Reservation last month, he said.
He said the threat of her release prompted the suspect,
Johnnie Jay Gaking IV,
to surrender.
"She's already made a difference, and she'll continue to get better," Schwind said. "She's already great, but through training and stuff like that, she'll only get better."
K-9 Raith is multi-purpose, which means her skills include finding narcotics, tracking people, offering protection and patrol support as well as article searches, during which she can find items disposed of by suspects.
"One of the demonstrations we do just to show how good she is is we'll take a coin and we'll throw it off into the grass and send her out to do a search," Schwind said. "She'll find that coin in no time."
He believes her presence alone changes behaviors in the community. When people know an agency has a K-9, they are less likely to transport drugs through the area, he said. Schwind believes any number of drugs K9-Raith keeps off the streets, whether by deterrence or apprehension, will increase safety in the county.
