Pharaoh, George, Asa & Grey
Bethlehem Mounted Patrol
You've likely seen the Bethlehem Mounted Patrol unit around town at festivals, parades and other community events. Primarily responsible for patrolling Bethlehem's downtown districts and city parks, they say that Musikfest is their time to shine and demonstrate the unit's full capabilities. “The horses are exceptional at crowd management, crime prevention and are a great public relations tool,” explains Officer Jason Holschwander. “Not to mention, the boys love when their counterparts from the Pennsylvania State Police and Lancaster City come to visit.”
The horses go by the names Pharaoh, 15, George, 13, Asa, 7, and Grey, 7. Their human counterparts are, respectively, Officer Ryan Danko, Officer Al Strydesky, Officer Jason Holschwander and Sergeant Michael Leaser. The Mounted Unit is supported by the not-for-profit Friends of Bethlehem Mounted Police, a 501 (c)(3) corporation. The majority of fundraising and support for the unit comes from FBMP, including funding for essential equipment and building their home, The Quadrant Private Wealth Stable Facility.
Fun Fact:
While Pharaoh likes to play with other horse halters, George has a thing for neck scratches (and food of any kind), Asa likes water bottles and Grey enjoys Jolly Balls.
Mikki
Explosive Detection Dog, Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE)
Meet Mikki, a two-year-old K9 who serves at the Lehigh Valley International Airport alongside Officer James Scoble. Mikki's primary role is as an explosive detection dog, which includes vehicle sweeps, checking of suspicious packages and overall patrol. She also serves as an important mutual aid asset for surrounding jurisdictions. Mikki's star moment was during her first week of service when she detected the presence of an explosive residue on a traveler at the TSA Checkpoint—she did this freely without command. According to Scoble, “Mikki is perfect for her role at [the airport].” Though she is as cute as she is skilled, travelers should always ask before approaching Mikki due to her task orientation.
Fun Fact:
Mikki's favorite treat is venison jerky.
Canto, Django, Harley, Remi & Fedor
Patrol K9, Allentown Police Department
Canto, Django, Harley, Remi and Fedor make up the Patrol K9 unit of the Allentown Police Department. Each of them plays a strong role in keeping the city safe and supplements patrol by assisting with building searches, tracking and drug detection.
Canto's handler, Captain Charles Roca, says that the German Shepherd's star moment was placing first in the obedience section of the 2017 Lehigh Valley K9 Trials. Meanwhile, when tracking an armed robbery suspect, Officer Jonathan C. Smith Sr. says that Django located the suspect and assisted in the arrest. (Fun fact: Django was the first Belgian Malinois for the city of Allentown in 2010.) Officer Andrew Fegely notes Harley's star moment as when he tracked and captured a suspect who ran from a burglary. It's not surprising that Harley won Fastest K9 at the 2015 Lehigh Valley K9 Trials. According to Officer Tal Cashatt, Remi has a star moment whenever he keeps Cashatt, his fellow coworkers and community members safe. But Remi also shines when he detects and locates illegal drugs, assists with taking subjects into custody, is a presence in angry crowds or makes that ever-lasting positive impression on an adult or child at a public demonstration or meet and greet. Fedor has had several star moments, according to Officer David M. Howells III. Fedor once helped apprehend a criminal that assaulted Howells, and he plays a key role in apprehending criminals that commit violent felonies and attempt to flee. Additionally, Fedor has placed in the top three in several events in consecutive police K9 trials.
Fun Fact:
While Canto enjoys playing with his Jute Tug, Django likes hot dogs, Harley enjoys grilled venison and his toy KONG, Remi enjoys bacon and playing frisbee and Fedor likes his fire hose tug toy and KONG.
Judge
Arson K9, Allentown Fire Department
Meet Judge, your not-so-typical nine-year-old Yellow Labrador Retriever. Judge has been in service since 2011 and, in 2016, he received the American Humane Hero Dog Award in the Arson K9 Category. His handler, Fire Chief Lee Laubach, Jr., says that Judge thrives in three major arears: investigation, deterrent and education. As an investigator, Judge has worked on more than 500 fire scenes and, during that time, has found evidence that's led to multiple criminal arrests and civil penalties for insurance fraud cases. As a deterrent, since Judge has been in service with the City of Allentown, the number of arson fires has dropped 55.7 percent. And as an educator, Judge has done more than 850 fire safety programs and demonstrations for crime watch groups, specialty dog shows and elementary and high school programs. Laubach says, “He has been instrumental in making the entire Lehigh Valley and neighboring communities more aware of fire and life safety.”
Fun Fact:
Judge doesn't have a favorite toy or treat, but he wants anything that one of his sisters is playing with at the time.
