The Haines Borough is looking into acquiring a police dog for the municipal police department. After reviewing a proposal drafted by Haines residents and a local police officer, the assembly directed borough manager Debra Schnabel to research the idea.

The proposal to acquire a police dog was first presented to the assembly this spring by the public safety commission. The borough looked into it briefly, but the assembly raised concerns about the cost and voted against researching it further.

Borough Manager Debra Schnabel said that several residents approached her after the idea was rejected.

“There are members of the community that feel strongly about having a canine unit,” Schnabel said. “They did come to me, and I told them I’ve already gone through this chapter and if you want to petition the assembly you can go ahead and do that, but it’s not going to come through me.”

That is exactly what Joann Ross Cunningham, Greg Podsiki and police sergeant Josh Dryden decided to do.

Cunningham said that she felt a petition could show there was enough interest for the assembly to reconsider the issue.

“We weren’t shooting for an avalanche of signatures, but just a cross representation of the community so that the borough assembly would understand there is a broad collection of people in the community who are interested in seeing a canine service in the community,” Cunningham said.

According to Sergeant Dryden, a police dog could be used for search and rescue operations and intercepting illegal drugs entering the community. The idea is that the dog could track individuals, provide probable cause for searches and deter criminals who realize the increased likelihood of getting caught transporting drugs.

An officer at the Haines Borough Police Department would house the dog and serve as its handler.

The cost of an untrained dog is anywhere between six and ten thousand dollars. It would cost another six thousand dollars to outfit a vehicle with a containment area for the dog.

These expenses are not budgeted. However, grant funding may be available and Cunningham said at least one community member may be willing to help fund some of the initial costs when the proposal is approved.

Borough Manager Debra Schnabel will look into the details of the cost and operation of a canine unit and report back to the assembly.