Warren County

Sergeant Josh Malin and Sheriff’s Department K-9 Melvin step in for duty

By Jack Underwood, Staff Writer
Posted 1/17/25

After 10 weeks of training with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Sergeant Josh Malin and K-9 Melvin are in the field and at work for the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
Warren County

Sergeant Josh Malin and Sheriff’s Department K-9 Melvin step in for duty

Posted

After 10 weeks of training with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Sergeant Josh Malin and K-9 Melvin are in the field and at work for the Warren County Sheriff’s Department. 

The pair graduated from the training academy on Dec. 13 and have been active on the road since Dec. 16, but the process started long before then. 

The revival of the K-9 program was a long time coming, originally funded with the passage of Prop P in 2020, which enacted a half-cent sales tax in the county for the Sheriff’s Department. 

Late last year, Malin, Sheriff Kevin Harrison and Chris Smith, master trainer for the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, traveled to Shallow Creek Kennels in Pennsylvania where they first met Melvin. 

“It’s not your typical, let’s go to the pound, or let’s go to a stray rescue place or anything like that. It’s a very long process,” said Malin. 

The dog is a 65-pound German Shepherd imported from Hungary and he recently celebrated his second birthday. He is named after former Sheriff Melvin Twiehaus, who was the longest serving sheriff in Warren County’s history, holding the position from 1961-84. 

For Malin, the bonding process with Melvin started immediately, as the two will have to rely on each other almost constantly in the field. 

“It’s every morning, every evening. It’s sun-up, sundown, whether we’re training, whether we’re just on a day off, there’s always some type of bonding going on with the dog,” said Malin. 

Malin has been with the department since 2015 and said while leading the K-9 program comes with additional responsibility he is proud to shoulder the weight and hopes to “be the K-9 unit that sets the example for what we have in the county.”

Malin said the 10-week training program was comprehensive, covering every aspect of his work with the dog, from simple obedience to the finer points of law enforcement. The program in Boone County is 10 weeks of eight hour days Monday to Friday and both officers and dogs are required to learn. 

“It’s very intensive, it’s mentally challenging and it’s physically challenging,” said Malin. 

According to Malin, the course covered everything from case law involving the use of K-9 units to bite work, obedience, tracking and building searches. 

Malin and Melvin have already made use of some of those skills in the field and have been involved in two recent arrests. 

The first of those occurred on Dec. 26, when Malin and Melvin were dispatched to a location to help search for a person wanted for stalking and harassment. Malin said Melvin was able to follow a scent trail to the victim’s house, confirming the suspect was in the area. 

From there officers were able to find the suspect hiding in the woods near the home with a drone, at which point Malin deployed Melvin a second time. 

“Basically, the suspect surrendered to the dog,” said Malin. “Now there’s no telling, if the dog was there or not, if he would have surrendered, but I like to think that if you have a barking dog that’s staring you down and willing to bite you at the command from me, I would like to think that most suspects are going to give up in that situation.”

More recently, on Jan. 3, he was also involved in a narcotics arrest. 

Malin responded to a call for a K-9 from a state trooper and Melvin located several “beans” or synthetic fentanyl pills, leading to the arrest of the suspect. 

“Just seeing the 10 weeks pay off and having the confidence to know that the dog knows what you’re doing and what you’re teaching him has worked, it’s been very cool to see in action,” said Malin. 

“I’m very excited to have Josh back from training, and his new partner Melvin gives us some resources that we haven’t had for a while,” said Harrison. “And that’s an open invitation to our other law enforcement agencies, … when Josh is on duty and Melvin is on duty, they are available to assist everybody.”

Moving forward, Malin said he hopes to continue to assist in narcotics arrests and hopes they are able to use he and Melvin’s abilities to their fullest capacity. 

“A lot of criminals out there, they see that we have dogs and that can alter their decision to commit crimes, period,” said Malin. “So just overall being in the community and being available to do any of that work that he’s trained to do is just priceless in my opinion.”

Warren County, Sheriff K-9

X