Utah State University police acquire 2nd explosives-detecting K9

Detective Mitch Blackham leads Wolverine on a training exercise Wednesday.

Detective Mitch Blackham leads Wolverine on a training exercise Wednesday.


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Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

(Mike Anderson, KSL)
(Mike Anderson, KSL)
Detective Mitch Blackham leads Wolverine on a training exercise Wednesday. (Mike Anderson, KSL)
Detective Mitch Blackham leads Wolverine on a training exercise Wednesday. (Mike Anderson, KSL)

LOGAN — Utah State University Police now have a second K9 that specializes in detecting explosives. A Belgian Malinois named Wolverine was donated by a company that contracts with federal agencies overseas. Detective Mitch Blackham, who serves as Wolverine's handler, said Wolverine brings some much-needed support. "I don't think they've found a better indicator or a better tool than the explosive detector dogs," Blackham said. "They'll do the stadium's pre football game, or a basketball game, a lot of the dances, things like that. Just making sure that there's nothing that can harm anyone."Wolverine will help take some of the workload off Zoomer, the department's other bomb-detecting dog. Blackham said the two will search out 'high possibility' areas, which is hard work. "Two is definitely a benefit here. I think a necessity, really," Blackham explained. "It cuts the time down. And it, it helps to prolong the life of the dogs."The two K9s are also the only ones with their expertise within all of Cache County, which means they serve as a resource for other surrounding agencies. USU's police department also added another K9, Sage, to its mix in 2023. However, her mission is aimed at helping students with mental health and in crisis response.

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Mike Anderson, KSLMike Anderson
Mike Anderson often doubles as his own photographer, shooting and editing most of his stories. He came to KSL in April 2011 after working for several years at various broadcast news outlets.

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