Woman Donates K-9 To Woods Cross Police Department

WOODS CROSS, Utah — The Woods Cross Police Department got a new K-9 officer Thursday, thanks to a Utah woman who trains police dogs and donates them to smaller departments that may not be able to afford one.

“He’s going to bring the drugs off the streets,” Rae Penman said. “He’s going to bring the bad guy in. And the biggest and most important thing, he’s going to bring his officer home safely.”

Loki will be Wood Cross’s third police dog. All of them have been donated by Penman, who is a trainer and owns Underworld Kennels in Box Elder County.

“I’m giving them several thousand dollars every time I do it,” Penman said. “It’s about $25,000 of training to get to this point, but it’s worth it to me.”

It doesn’t take much to see Penman loves her dog — like any dog owner, there’s a bond difficult to put into words.

“He’s a good-looking boy,” Penman said while playing fetch with him. “Loki is a Dutch Shepherd.”

However, when Penman brought Loki to a Woods Cross park Thursday evening, she also knew it was likely the last time they would be together.

“You take care of these guys, okay? That’s your job now,” Penman said while kissing Loki on his nose. “Let’s go see Austin.”

Austin is K-9 officer Austin Strong with the Woods Cross Police Department, and he’ll be Loki’s partner.

“A permanent partner. He’ll be with me all the time 24-7,” Strong said.

As drugs continue to be a growing issue in Woods Cross, those cute, wet noses are as needed as ever.

“It’s pretty bad,” Strong said. “There come related crimes of theft because people need to, they need the drugs so then they break into a car, they break into houses to get that stuff.”

Penman said while she’s sad to see Loki go, she’s happy knowing what he’ll be doing.

“There’s nothing more fun than to watch a dog do what it’s bred to do,” Penman said.