Ulster Police Welcome New K9 from the Slovak Republic

Ulster County is getting a whole lot safer with a special addition to their police department.

Earlier this week, the Ulster Police Department announced the addition of a new K9 to their staff. In a Facebook post, Chief Kyle Berardi announced a new K9 to the department with a meaningful backstory. The Ulster Police Department writes:

 K9 Cruise, an 18-month-old Belgian Malinois from the Slovak Republic is named after the late Chief Anthony Cruise who died in December of 2016 after losing his battle with cancer. Chief Cruise served the Ulster Police Department with dedication from 1989 until his retirement in 2015.

According to the post, Cruise will be partnered up with his handler Officer Ralph Leiter. Cruise is set to start K9 school later in March.

As mentioned before, Cruise is an 18-month old Belgian Malinois breed. If you've been paying attention to what's showing at the movie theaters you may have heard of a film called Dog starring Channing Tatum.

The film got positive views, however, dog experts are worried. The Belgian Malinois breed is "“High drive, high anxiety, high workability, requires a lot of physical and mental stimulations" according to dog trainer Vinnie Somma. He told NBC and the Today Show:

If you don’t genetically fulfill a Belgian Malinois, they're going to be a liability. This breed has a huge financial responsibility. The amount of training and cost for that training is something people need to think about. They are not bred to be standard house pets.

It sounds like Cruise found the perfect home to put his skills to the test at the Ulster Police Department.

Congratulations, Cruise! Welcome to the Hudson Valley.