Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Township K-9 Police Officer Ethan Moncilovich poses with Pogo and the certificate she earned earlier on Tuesday when she was tested in narcotics and tracking.

POLAND — Township officials welcomed its third police dog after a four-year stretch without one.

Pogo, the newest member of the police force, was officially sworn in at a special township meeting on Tuesday.

A full house at Township Hall awaited Pogo and her handler, Officer Ethan Moncilovich, after they had wrapped up a day of testing in order to become certified in narcotics and tracking.

Pogo’s story actually begins when she was rescued from the streets. Police Chief Greg Wilson showed a video about where she came from, and the work she put in to become an officer. The video noted she was picked up as a stray that was hanging around a construction site in Tennessee. She was checked for a chip and attempts were made to find her owner, but all in vain. The person who found her wanted to take her in, but the family’s dog did not take to having another dog in the house.

Wilson said the Poland Township police dog program began 14 years ago. Paco was the first one, followed by Mido.

“Each of our canines gave us five good years,” Wilson said. “It had been four years that we did not have a canine in the township.”

He said his department tried to get one started for over a year, using a local rescue dog. Wilson’s fiancee, Cheri Wallace, finally located a possible source.

“I am a volunteer at Every Dog Matters,” Wallace said. “I wanted to see a pit bull rescued and turned into a work dog. We tried this area and various shelters and none of the dogs worked out, so I went out of the area.”

She found a rescue group called Throw Away Dogs Project from Huntington Valley, Pa. The organization helps train and place rescue dogs into police departments across the nation. Wilson said an application was sent and in a very short time, Poland Township was approved for the program.

“All we had to do was send officer Moncilovich to Tennessee,” Wilson said.

After three days with Pogo, a rescued mix breed, Moncilovich made the trip back home. Here Moncilovich and Pogo continued to train under Enforcer Working Dog Inc. That training wrapped up with Pogo being tested on Tuesday for certification through the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, which she earned with no problem.

Moncilovich, 25, graduated from Poland Seminary High School in 2016 and continued his education at Kent State and YSU’s Police Academy.

“I always knew I wanted to work for the Poland Township Police Department,” he said. “And I always wanted to be a canine handler.”

Mahoning County Commissioner David Ditzler attended the swearing-in ceremony and spoke on the importance of finding a place for the many homeless dogs.

“Last year we took in 1,200 dogs in Mahoning County,” Ditzler said. “At the county dog pound, we presently have 84 dogs right now. We have put down 40 dogs, half at the owners request due to illness and suffering, and half because they were not able to be socialized.”

Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova said the program was great and was “an opportunity to showcase how we can work together.”

Wilson said the whole program to get Pogo on the road came down to Moncilovich’s hours spent in Tennessee. The cruiser was already in the fleet from prior police dogs. The dog’s food is going to be covered by Blackwoods Pet Foods at no cost as long as she is working. The training was donated under the program, leaving very little expense to the township.

“I have been telling other police chiefs in the county who are looking for a canine to check out the Throw Away Dogs program,” Wilson said. “Its just a win-win for everyone, including the dog.”

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