by Kathy Tretter and Don Steen
In recent months, Spencer County Sheriff’s Deputy Benjamin Nanney was selected to be the Sheriff Office’s K9 handler. Nanney joined the Department in July of 2022 and graduated from both the Southern Indiana Police Academy in Evansville and the Handler School in Michigan, which is where he met his brand new partner, Fika, a Belgian Mal and German Shepherd mix.
Deputy Nanney and his canine partner trained for six weeks to get a feel for each other. Like any coworker, every dog represents a different personality to work with.
“It’s been really good,” he said. “It’s taken a bit to figure her out, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Last Monday night, October 23rd was Fika’s first night on the job. She put her considerable skills to the test on her second night, October 24th, when another agency called for a K9, Ben and Fika responded to the call on US 231 near Santa Claus. After she was deployed to complete a vehicle sniff, Fika signaled that drugs were present.
During a search by officers, four pounds of methamphetamine were located in the vehicle.
“That’s a career find,” praised Nanney.
The recent drug bust shows just how critical that rapport can be between handler and dog, as well as the intense training the two have undertaken together. Nanney said that in all his work with Fika, she had never indicated as firmly and articulately as she had on that occasion.
Read more on this story in this week’s issue of the Spencer County Leader!
Featured Image: Sheriff’s Deputy Benjamin Nanney poses with K-9 unit Fika. Fika and Nanney were instrumental in a large drug find last Monday.
