UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. — The Erwin Police Department asked the community to help locate K-9 Scotty after they lost him in the floods. On Sunday, Erwin Police updated the community that Scotty's body had been found.
A K-9 trainer from Georgia saw the original post asking for help in finding Scotty. Then because of poor cell service due to Helene, he didn't see the update until days later. Now, he wants to help the best way he knows how -- by donating a K-9.
Trainer Ashley Louth said he's lost dogs before and understands how the officers must feel. While he understands grieving is a part of loss, he wants the department to know they have options moving forward.
"Having lost dogs myself it's always a difficult and very emotional time so I could relate to how he must have felt," Louth said, "Obviously, you could never replace one that you've lost. Everyone is its own individual little character."
He owns Louth K9, a breeding and training facility that raises K-9s from puppies to protection dogs. He said with his years of experience he wanted to give back to a suffering community.
"I thought as I've got a bunch of very capable young dogs, it would do me no disservice to allow somebody else to have one," he said.
Louth said it's important for police to have K-9s because it makes them and the community feel safer. The dogs are not only reliable, confident and capable of handling dangerous situations but also social enough to interact with people off-duty.
"You need a very balanced stable dog," Louth said. "It's a good way for the officers to be able to interact and reach out to the general public. If you've got the dog with you, people want to stop and say hi, which makes it easier for them to build relationships within the community."
He's offering the department their choice between two puppies, a boy and a girl both born on July 4. He said the officers would have plenty of time to bond with them before they start service. Louth also said they are capable of being single or dual-purpose K-9s.
Louth said he hopes Erwin Police will take him up on his offer; however, he cannot afford to help with transport costs.