By Brandi Makuski

Johnson Towing was bustling with law enforcement on Monday.

And dogs. Lots of dogs.

Portage Co. law enforcement conducted monthly K-9 training on April 24, along with K-9 units from the Plover Police Dept. and agencies from Wood, Marathon, Adams and Taylor counties.

“It can be hard to schedule something like this,” said Portage County Deputy Dan Wachowiak, who participated in the training with his K-9 partner Yent, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois, along with Deputy John White and his K-9 partner Lady. “So it’s nice they let us use this space.”

Wachowiak was referring to the tow yard at Johnson Towing — not an uncommon site for police and fire training — on Patch Street. The space is fenced in and not accessible to the public, making it an ideal space to train the dogs.

Co-owner Betty Johnson, who called the training “interesting” and watched from outside the fence, said she’d recently presented local law enforcement agencies with Thin Blue Line flags to show the company’s support.

Lt. Ryan Fox on Monday took possession of one such flag for Plover PD.

“It’s a nice gesture, I know they support law enforcement and firefighters a lot,” Fox said, adding the flag demonstrates support for law enforcement, with the blue line representing the “thin line” between chaos and order.

Fox was watching fellow officer Seth Pionke play the part of a dangerous suspect during a traffic stop, with Pionke wearing a heavy suit to protect him from the dogs’ bites.

“Normally, I’m Ice’s chew toy, so this is interesting for me, to see it from another perspective,” Fox said.

Wachowiak said K-9 units from across central Wisconsin often train together for two eight-hour days each month at rotating locations.

https://youtu.be/AhSgybxAnPM