Mt. Pleasant police dog retiring after six years

MT. PLEASANT - After more than six years on the force, Mt. Pleasant police K-9 Riga will trade in sniffing out narcotics for chasing tennis balls and heading into retirement on Dec. 31.

The 9-year-old mixed Belgian malinois and German shepherd will enjoy family life with her handler, Officer Nate Ensminger.

Riga joined the department when the department noticed a need for a narcotic detection dog.

'With some of the drug issues going on in town, our previous chief thought it would be a good asset along with the county attorney's office,” Ensminger said.

Before Riga, the department had been using privately owned certified K-9s to assist its narcotics department.

'They thought it would be a good idea for us to have one that we could use all the time,” the officer said.

Ensminger added the retiring K-9 was not only an asset to Mt. Pleasant but to all of Southeast Iowa.

'There just wasn't one, wasn't those capabilities in our area. There were a couple dogs in Washington but around this general area, there just wasn't. It kind of filled a hole that we all needed,” he said of Riga's role.

With Ensminger, the K-9 has helped out departments in Burlington, Wapello, Fort Madison and prisons in the region.

'We've helped out whenever we've been asked,” he said.

The officer said Riga has 'had some really nice finds” including some larger seizures of drugs. Ensminger added having the K-9 has led to suspects willingly handing over drugs as well.

'One of the best things that I can remember is I told the subject I was going to get Riga out to perform a sniff around the perimeter of his vehicle and he said, ‘Oh, don't do that.' He went ahead and told me where it was,” Ensminger described.

The officer added Riga, like other trained K-9s, is very good at her job and often just the mention of her is enough to speed along an investigation.

'There's the threat of her being there and her doing her job,” he said.

Although her duties will soon be done, Ensminger believes Riga will miss being part of the department.

'She'll miss coming to work because I come out and open up her kennel, and she runs right up to the squad car. She knows whenever she comes out, it's time to go to work,” he said.

'She'll be pretty sad when I leave for work,” he added.

However, looking forward, Ensminger said he believes Riga will enjoy retirement. Throughout her tenure at the department, the officer said the K-9 has been kept pretty separate from his family to maintain her role as a police dog.

'She stays outside. She has her kennel outside, so she doesn't interact very much with my family, and that will definitely change. She'll be more my pet,” he said.

Ensminger added Riga will now get to enjoy hanging out and sleeping inside of his house and playing with his children.

'She loves to swim. She loves to play fetch,” Ensminger said of the new activities Riga will get to enjoy.

With Riga's retirement, at this time, the department does not intend to get another K-9 for the deparment. Police Chief Lyle Murray said with the cost of maintaining a K-9 as well as the possibility of marijuana becoming legalized, the department plans to wait several years before taking on a new dog.