By BARBARA GREEN
There is a new law enforcement team working Montague County as Deputy Chase Pelton and K9 Ace are completing their training and are ready to protect and service.
Pelton, 27, has been a deputy two years after working five years as a dispatcher in the county jail. He will be the first canine unit operated by the sheriff’s office in many years.
Sheriff Marshal Thomas said he had worked with dogs in the Department of Public Safety and they were very useful often doing jobs a human could not do for example searching underneath a house for a suspect.
“He will be a tool for narcotics detection which will improve 100 percent and be safer. An open air sniff of a car moves us into probable cause, which enables a search without a warrant. The dog also can help track a suspect or a lost child,” said the sheriff.
Thomas also expects Ace and Pelton be a public relations tool for the department. He laughs the dog can be a good link especially in the schools showing law enforcement is not bad.
When the approval came to purchase the dog, Thomas asked within the department who might be interested in becoming a handler and Pelton said it peaked his interest.

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Deputy Chase Pelton and K-9 Ace. (News photo by Barbara Green)