Richmond Police hope donors will help with K-9 costs

Each donation we get is greatly appreciated.

Since Lt. Curt Leverton retired Marco on Jan. 1 after seven years, Leo and handler Officer Austin Lipps are RPD's only K-9 team.

He has tracked an armed robbery suspect's path, locating evidence.

The dogs are trained, with a tennis ball as the reward, to recognize the odors of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.

Leverton said the dogs are so good they can locate the odor on a cotton ball that had sat inside a police narcotics canister before being hidden inside a vehicle.

The dogs also make officers accessible to the public, especially children, whether around town or during demonstrations for schools or organizations.

"For me, when overseas, the ability to locate an explosive device and save people's lives, that was a big thing," Glover said.

Glover, who has two children, has a dog at home he trained for personal protection, partly because he missed that relationship.

"Since my time in the military doing it, it's been a great passion of mine," he said.