For nearly 30 years, K9s have been a valuable asset to the Pickerington Police Department, acting not only as a force enhancer but also as an active tracker, investigator and backup for their handler.
Now, the department welcomes Pempo as its fourth K9 since the program’s inception. Pempo is working alongside Officer Matthew Dalesio to continue to increase efficiency in the field and enhance safety in the community.
A new K9
Ray LaVoie
Following the retirement of previous K9 Foe in early 2025, after eight years working with Officer Nick Baehr, the positions for a new K9 and handler opened up. Dalesio, entering his fourth year with the department at the time, applied for the opportunity to explore working with a K9 by his side.
“I’ve always had German shepherds or those types of dogs growing up, and the type of work that you can do with a dog is the work that I like to do,” Dalesio says.
After interviewing with Police Chief Tod Cheney and the commander, Dalesio was selected for the position in March 2025. The process to fill the K9 position was a lengthy one, as Dalesio worked with a few K9s over the next few months that weren’t the right fit for the multi-purpose work.
“It was kind of rough at first because the first two dogs we had didn’t work out. They’re living, breathing things too, and sometimes they’re just either not right for it, or right for (a certain) aspect,” Dalesio says. “(Our dog) is a dual-purpose dog, so he doesn’t just sniff for narcotics. He does building searches, article searches, tracking, apprehension work, that kind of stuff too, so it’s a lot of boxes to check in order to get the correct dog.”
Come August, Dalesio traveled to a K9 training facility in Hiram Township near Cleveland for a day to evaluate another round of prospects.
Throughout the 12-hour day, he watched the dogs at work, assessing them primarily for their early training and skills in bitework and ability to hold onto objects and apprehend suspects, as well as their personality and aptitude for dual-purpose work.
After returning to Pickerington, he reviewed footage and feedback from Chief Cheney and other previous handlers, ultimately settling on one pup who showed the most promise in his preliminary training and an initial bond with Dalesio: Pempo.
Building the skills
Pickerington Police Dept.
Pempo, a 2-year-old German shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix from the Czech Republic, was an efficient learner at the training facility near Cleveland. He learned skills in bitework, built from when he was a puppy, as well as some preliminary odor training in narcotics, but he also showed a propensity for being active and involved in the investigation and searching process.
“It was really big to have the dog that wanted to go out there and do that, because the dog that I had prior, he didn’t, and that was the reason he got cut,” Dalesio shares.
The duo started their six-week training program for the State of Ohio certification soon after evaluations, scaling up from bitework to training further in narcotics, building and article searches, and tracking.
Working at Excel K-9, they stayed in Cleveland and trained for eight to 12 hours a day, five days a week, to build their skills together, while also refining Pempo’s obedience, learning the language of commands and building their connection.
Pempo officially joined the department in November of 2025 following the completion of his state certification training with Dalesio.
On shift
Ray LaVoie
After certification training, work quickly returned to normal for Dalesio – but now, with a friend riding in the back of the cruiser.
Riding together on their typical third shifts four days a week, their time on duty consists of tracking leads, searching for articles such as discarded clothing or other evidence, helping clear buildings for threats and suspects, sniffing out narcotics and providing additional safety support throughout the community.
Dalesio and Pempo also spend a day each week continuing their training at Triple Threat K9 in Baltimore, often with K9s from nearby departments. This practice not only helps fulfill their monthly continued training requirements, but also maintains and refines their skills – practicing in impound yards, abandoned buildings, local parks and other areas to train for any arising scenario.
Ray LaVoie
“It’s extremely beneficial to train every week with a new dog, or even an old dog, just because everyone needs reps, and if they’re sitting there doing nothing, they’re going to diminish… especially with a dual-purpose dog,” Dalesio says.
Over time, the duo has also become more involved in the community – attending career fairs and doing demonstrations to showcase their skills and dynamic, participating in joint agency searches at the schools and more – which will evolve as Pempo progresses in his career, and as he and Dalesio continue building their bond on- and off-duty.
“You get a best friend you get to bring into work with you,” Dalesio says. “You get a pet at home, but you don’t have to leave that pet behind.”
History of K9s
Ray LaVoie
K9s have been reliable companions in military and police efforts for centuries, dating back to the Middle Ages. Though they started as informal additions to searches, trailing and detection, they became more widely used as established parts of the police force in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Over time, their skills have refined to include finding evidence and narcotics, as well as apprehension and human detection – all with their heightened senses, especially their nose.
“As we walk for tracking and stuff like that, they track by ground disturbances and human odor. As you walk, skin cells are falling off of you, you might be sweating, you could be bleeding, anything of that sort, they’re picking that up on the ground as you’re walking. Like, (with) a crushed branch, they can essentially sense (or) smell that that’s fresh,” Dalesio explains.
In Pickerington, K9s joined the force in the late 1990s, with then-Officer Cheney, who drafted the proposal that kick-started the program towards the end of 1997 and became the first handler of the force’s first K9, Zar.
From the beginning, the department worked with dual-purpose K9s – dogs trained in multiple areas compared to specialized single-purpose dogs – to provide the widest skillset to the department.
Over time, the types of dogs changed slightly, shifting from using larger German shepherds like Zar to more medium-sized dogs like Pempo as a German shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix – a shift to help with the K9’s health and career longevity.
Cheney worked with Zar from 1997 to 2006. Zar was succeeded by Shadow, who worked alongside Police Sergeant Jim Gallagher, then-officer, from 2009 to 2015. The years between 2016 and 2025 ushered in Foe, joining Officer Baehr, and were followed by Pempo with Officer Dalesio in late 2025.
Jane Dimel is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at jdimel@cityscenemediagroup.com.
