Officer Marc Schuermeyer with Belgian Malinois Apollo. The K9s is a tracker with the Monroe Police Department.
Photo by Nathan Whalen
MONROE — For the first time in two years, Monroe will have K9s in its ranks.
The Monroe City Council last Tuesday welcomed Thor and Apollo, who are tracking dogs that will be working during the evening.
“Our department is proud of its longstanding commitment to K9 work and we’re thrilled to welcome Thor and Apollo to the team,” Police Chief Jeff Jolley said during the city council meeting.
Thor is a 4-year-old German Shepherd who will be partnered with officer Bradey Petit and Apollo is a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois who will be partnered with officer Marc Schuermeyer.
Petit’s been with the Monroe department since 2017 and Schuermeyer since 2021. Both said becoming a K9 handler has been a goal.
“It’s nice to have a partner with you,” Petit said of Thor.
Thor and Apollo are the 12th and 13th K9s to serve the Monroe Police Department since the 1990s. Their introduction to the City Council came the same evening the swearing-in of three commissioned officers — Gaby Escalante, Ale Nelson and Cheyanne Rosa — took place.
The last dog to serve as a K9 was a German Shepherd dog, Tango, who retired in 2022.
Thor and Apollo started Thanksgiving week and they are working the evening shifts, which historically is when most violent crime takes place, Sgt. Jake Carswell, who is the supervisor of the K9 units in Monroe, said in an interview.
The recent council meeting is the first time the community got to meet Thor and Apollo.
It cost the City of Monroe $29,538 to purchase Thor and Apollo from Alabama Canine.
The cost of the dogs was offset with $16,000 in donations from Monroe Rotary and from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, Jolley said during the council meeting.
Carswell said police departments in Seattle and Mill Creek recently received dogs from Alabama Canine.
It took two years to find a replacement for Tango. In previous years, Monroe worked with other departments to train handlers and dogs. However, other departments didn’t have the staff to train a K9 and handler. Carswell said trainers at other departments had been recently promoted to sergeant.
Petit, Schuermeyer, Thor and Apollo underwent 400 hours of training with Function First K9, which cost $22,500, Carswell said. They earned their patrol Canine Team certification through the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, according to information from the city.
Carswell said the dogs will visit Rotary and Chamber of Commerce meetings. They’ll make an appearance at next year’s Monroe Farmers Market and be part of the Community Academy.
Plus, Thor and Apollo will have a booth and participate in demonstrations during the next National Night Out, which takes place the first Tuesday of August.
“They’ve always been a big pull no matter where they go,” Carswell said.
