The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Police Department will swear in its newest K-9 officer in a public event at the University Center.
Everyone is invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of K-9 Hawk, the newest member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater police department. The event is 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31.
Hawk — an Australian cattle dog — will help secure large-scale events and work with officers on campus. For several years, the department has been using K-9 officers from other campuses to enhance safety and security of university events.
Because of a grant from Universal K-9, a nonprofit based in San Antonio, Texas, the campus was able to adopt and train its own police dog.
Kelsey Servi, who has served as a police officer at UW-Whitewater for more than five years, was chosen to be Hawk’s hander.
“Kelsey demonstrated the strongest desire and aptitude out of the group of officers who applied for the opportunity. Kelsey has consistently demonstrated the ability to adapt to new environments, new challenges and is awesome at community engagement,” said Matt Kiederlen, chief of police.
While Servi traveled to Texas in Dec. 2016 to meet and train with her new partner, the UW-Whitewater campus voted via social media poll to name the dog “Hawk.”
Kiederlen said the department is ecstatic to have a K-9 join the department.
“Hawk is a great dog and Officer Servi is doing a great job fine-tuning his capabilities and helping him integrate with his new family,” Kiederlen said.
The swearing-in will be in Room 275 of the center.
