K9 Nordy "Exceeds Expectations" In First Month With Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; Oversized Name Embroidery Proves Problematic

WAUKESHA — One month into his tenure with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, K9 Nordy has assisted in three drug investigations, participated in one missing-person search in rural Whitewater, and required the early replacement of a collar that department staff have since described, without much prompting, as "a mistake we made together."

Nordy, a 3-year-old German Shepherd mix, joined the department Sept. 18 after completing a Madison-based K9 training program. His handler, Deputy Michael Krause, said the dog has "adapted remarkably well to field deployment," a phrase Krause repeated twice in the same tone he might use to describe a new squad car breaking in a transmission.

The Collar Situation

Nordy's original collar featured his name in a decorative embroidered font roughly twice the height of a standard K9 nameplate, a specification Krause attributed to a miscommunication with the supplier and not, he was careful to note, to any request from within the department. The collar was replaced within the first week after it repeatedly caught on door frames, most notably the rear doorway of the department's transport van, where Krause said Nordy "got hung up pretty good" on at least two separate occasions before anyone flagged the font as the issue.

The replacement collar carries Nordy's name in a smaller, unadorned typeface. Krause said he has kept the original in a desk drawer "in case anybody doesn't believe me."

"He's a great dog. The collar was a font problem, not a dog problem. I want that on the record."

— Deputy Michael Krause, Nordy's handler

On The Job

Since his Sept. 18 start date, Nordy has assisted in three minor drug investigations and one missing-person search in rural Whitewater, a search Krause described as brief and successfully resolved. Krause declined to detail the drug investigations further, citing their minor and ongoing nature, but said Nordy's performance in each had exceeded what the department typically expects from a K9 officer in his first thirty days.

"He exceeds expectations," Krause said. "I'll be honest, the expectations weren't that high for a first month. He's still exceeding them."

Sheriff's office staff said Nordy has settled into the department's kennel facility without incident and has shown a particular fondness for a tennis ball kept in the front seat of Krause's patrol vehicle, which Krause said is used exclusively as a training reward and not, he added, "as a toy, even though it is obviously a toy."

What's Next

The department plans to deploy Nordy to school safety events beginning in October, part of a broader community-visibility push that Krause said will likely involve more embroidery decisions, this time with additional review. "We're going to look at the font situation before we order anything else with his name on it," Krause said. "Lesson learned. Dog learned it faster than we did."

Asked whether Nordy has a favorite part of the job so far, Krause paused. "He likes the van," Krause said. "Once you get him through the door."