The Montague Police K-9 Unit was originally established in the 1970’s with the towns’ first team, being the late Harvey Kellyhouse and his K-9 partner “Satan”. Kellyhouse and “K-9 Satan” were responsible for solving several crimes during their career together. One of the major crimes solved was a jewelry heist where “K-9 Satan” tracked to an area and located the jewels buried beneath the ground. Kellyhouse and “Satan” were also credited with finding a lost child in the Montague Plains during a bitter cold day in the middle of the winter.
In 2000 the K-9 program was resurrected with its current K-9 Unit being manned by Patrolman John Dempsey and his K-9 partner “Kyra”. Officer Dempsey served four years in the United States Air Force handling Military working dogs with his primary assignment being explosive detection. Currently Officer Dempsey and “K-9 Kyra” are certified to track criminals and missing/lost persons, evidence recovery, scouting and drug detection. K-9 Kyra has been responsible for finding many criminals and illegal drugs during her service with the Montague Police Department. “Kyra”, is ten years old and reaching retirement age. The Montague Police Department is in the process of selecting another dog to replace “Kyra” after she retires to spend some relaxing days at home with Officer Dempsey and his family.
In 2011 the Montague Police Department welcomed,"Sunny", to its force to take over for the retired, "Kyra". "Sunny", is a three year old German Shepard imported from the Netherlands, who is trained to track criminals and missing/lost persons along with the detection of illegal narcotics. "Sunny" is certified through the North American Police Work Dog Association. His training is continuious and he is re-certified yearly. "Sunny" is best described as a happy dog who loves to put his nose down and track.
In 2014 Officer Jim Ruddock was appointed as an additional new K-9 Officer for the Montague Police Department. Officer Ruddock will be patrolling with his new partner "Artie". Being a K-9 Officer is a dream come true for Officer Ruddock. This has been his passion for many years and he finally gets to do what he has so badly wanted to do. We are very proud of Officer Ruddock's accomplishments with this program.
The K-9 program is primarily funded through donations. The “Turners Falls Rod and Gun Club” has been raising money for the program since 2003 and have been very helpful to the program. The “Millers Falls Rod and Gun Club” has also started making donations on a yearly basis and they too are very helpful. The Montague Elks made a significant donation in March 2014 to the program and has stated they will try to continue making donations to the program.Officers Dempsey and Ruddock, as well as all officers of the Montague Police Department, are very appreciative of the these clubs contributions as well as their support and the communities support for the K-9 program. The K-9 unit is available for Demonstrations upon request and we really enjoy doing this. Officers Dempsey and Ruddock can be reached by phone by calling the police department at (413) 863-8911 or by emailing them at jdempsey@montague.net and jruddock@montague.net.
Updated May 1, 2014
