The Solebury Township Police Department established the K-9 unit in 2019. The K9 Team consists of Handler, Officer Matthew Rice and Police K-9 Blitz.

The K-9 team must complete a rigorous evaluation process. Both the handler and canine have attended a 480-hour K-9 Academy. They must complete an annual certification through Penn Vet Working Dog Center.

K-9 Blitz is trained and certified in patrol work and cross trained in one additional specific area (narcotics detection). Officer Rice and K-9 Blitz have worked in many situations resulting in locating lost persons and assisting in criminal investigations.

Regular Duties

• Community Relations - Dogs are often able to break down barriers that may exist between officers and citizens. A primary role of the K9 will be as an “ambassador” for the department
• Officer and Citizen Safety - K9’s will be trained to search buildings that could potentially contain dangerous suspects, this means exposing the officers to less danger.
• Tracking - K9’s can search for individuals, often hours later. They can search for dangerous suspects, lost children, or missing adults.
• Evidence Collection - K9’s can locate items with human scent on them that may have been discarded by suspects after committing a crime

In addition to their regular duties, K-9 Unit on occasion works with outside agencies to include:

• ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
• DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)
• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
• Local agencies
• Secret Service
• U.S. Customs

Fundraising

Through your donation, we're able to accomplish the purchase of the K-9, handler training and continued on-going expenses. Your donation enables us to maintain the safety of the community. In addition, your gift to a local government entity would be tax deductible as it is being utilized solely for public purposes, IRS Code at 26 U.S.C. §170(c)(1).

K9 Donations can be mailed to Solebury Township, Attn: K-9 Program, PO Box 139, Solebury, PA 18963. You can also make donations from the comfort of your home or office by using our online payment service. Questions should be directed to mrice@soleburypd.org

K9 Apparel

You can support our K9 Program by purchasing a Solebury Township K9 Blitz K9 Hooded sweatshirt. Sizes run from small to XXL. The shirts are $35 each plus a small processing fee (see fee information below). Shirts can be picked up from the police department during business hours (Monday through Thursday, 7 am to 5 pm) at 3092 Sugan Road.

Stuffed Toy

A Blitz Stuffed Toy plush K9 Blitz stuffed toy is also available at $20.00 each. Proceeds support the program, and the item picked up from the department.

Items available at our online Store https://solebury-township-police-department.square.site/

Online Payment Service Fees

Credit cards accepted include MasterCard, Discover, American Express or Visa. A per transaction service fee of 2.6% or $3.00 minimum will be charged by the payment processing company for this service.

We also accept electronic check payments using our online payment service. Payments will be charged to your checking or savings account at your bank. You will need your 9-digit routing number, as well as your account number from your personal checks. A per transaction service fee of $1.50 will be charged by the payment processing company for this service.

Donations:

Checks payable to Solebury Township, memo line – K-9

Solebury Township Police Dept.

PO Box 139

Solebury, PA 18963