Pictured, from left, are Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing, Waterloo Odd Fellows Vice Grand Noble Brian Bise, Odd Fellows Grand Noble Tom Wetzler, MCSD K-9 Deputy Justin Mendenhall, and MCSD K-9 program director Lt. Jim Lansing. The Odd Fellows donated $9,000 to the sheriff’s department for a new police dog. (Andrea Saathoff photo)

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department’s K-9 program began in 1996 when Dyk joined as deputy Bob Young’s partner.

It continued ­— and blossomed ­— when Sari joined as Jim Lansing’s partner in 2005. Today, Kondor patrols the roads with handler Ed Ahne.

Now, the department is poised to add another name to the list of distinguished K-9s thanks to a generous donation from Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge 27 in Waterloo.

Deputy Justin Mendenhall and the department received a $9,000 check from the organization Tuesday, enough to reach their goal of $13,000 needed to secure a second K-9.

“We work 12-hour shifts – one day shift squad and one night shift squad. When we have two (K-9s) — if one is off the other is working. That way we’re maximizing our coverage. It ensures 365 days a year a canine is available for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and the community upon request,” Mendenhall said.

The MCSD K-9 program is independent of the department’s budget and self-sustaining.

When K-9 Reggie, who worked with Mendenhall for just more than a year, had to retire last September due to severe dermatitis and food and environmental allergies, Mendenhall and Lansing figured out a way to come up with funds to secure a new K-9 without using any taxpayer money.

Both members of the Odd Fellows, Mendenhall and Lansing attended a meeting at which Lansing spoke to the group about Sari and the department’s K-9 program.

“We were hoping to get a couple thousand dollars, maybe $5,000,” Lansing said.

When a motion was made to offer a donation — generous, but not quite enough — Vice Grand Noble Brian Bise asked Lansing,

“How much do you need?”

When Lansing told him $9,000, Bise rescinded the motion and made a new one — this time for the full amount. It passed unanimously.

“I had goosebumps,” Lansing said.

In addition, the department has received several $1,000 donations so far: Top Shooters in Columbia; Quality Collision and owners Chris and Melissa Kalbfleisch; John Holzum, founder of popular local band Well Hungarians and Lansing’s brother-in-law, in honor of his late father’s John T. Holzum Foundation; and St. Louis based Pearl Vodka.

Mendenhall also initiated a T-shirt sale. He personally designed the shirts with help from Valerie Luther of Columbia, and has already had to re-order them once. They can be purchased at the sheriff’s department.

All proceeds from the shirt sale go into the K-9 Program fund, which was established with the $3,700 in donations that came into the department after Sari’s sudden death in 2015.

With the $13,000 needed — $10,000 for the dog and $3,000 for training — now in hand, Mendenhall and Lansing will travel to Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Ind., in early April to pick out the newest member of the MCSD.

The selection process involves handlers showing 15 to 20 dogs, mostly Belgian Malnois and Dutch and German Shepherds. Mendenhall and Lansing will watch demonstrations on obedience, tracking, narcotics detection and apprehension.

They will narrow down the field of contenders and spend time with them.

“It’s just amazing how they make a connection in a short time,” Lansing said.

Mendenhall will be looking for a dog who will meet the department’s law enforcement needs and also make a good community service dog.

In short, “I’d like another dog like Sari,” he said.

Once he has selected the dog, the two will return to Monroe County for a few days before heading to eight weeks of training at a new facility in Macon County. They will be there with a handler and dog from Belleville.

“St. Clair County just went through it and spoke very highly of the program,” Mendenhall said.

Their first MCSD shift will be June 4.

Lansing, for one, can’t wait.

“He’s going to be one heck of a good K-9 officer,” the veteran K-9 handler said of Mendenhall, adding, like a proud papa, “The torch has passed.”