Thanks to the generosity of some local businesses and supporters and the approval of city officials, the City of Laurel will soon be getting some added help on the police force.

The Laurel City Council Tuesday night approved the Laurel Police Department’s request that police be allowed to accept checks in the amount of $11,250 for the purchase of a K-9.

Various supporters have donated funds totaling the $11,250 that will be used to purchase the trained-canine.

“This new K-9 will not cost the city anything to purchase,” said Corporal Rob Norman, trainer for LPD’s K-9 division.

Norman said the police department currently has three functioning K-9s.

In August, the Laurel City Council agreed to retire K-9 Bear, which had some health problems, to the care of officer Mitchell Sumrall.

Norman said the new K-9, when purchased, will replace K-9 Bear on the police force.

“We are looking for a dual purpose dog,” Norman said. “We want a dog that is able to be a patrol dog and a detector dog.”

Norman said the city’s other three K-9 dogs are dual purpose dogs.

Officials said having K-9s are an asset to all.

“They are so valuable to us,” Norman said. “We’ve investigated it and it costs about 75 cent a hour based on the dog’s lifetime.

“A lot of times, the dogs pay for themselves with what (particularly drugs) they take off the streets,” Norman added. “The dog is very capable of finding and locating drugs, tracking a lost person, finding evidence that may be thrown out by suspects and so much more. ... They can do building searches and area searches.”

Norman said the police department also likes to have K-9s that can be taken to the local schools and community events, where demonstrations are conducted.

Officials said it usually takes about two months to get a trained K-9 ready to be added to the local police department’s force.