Superior Kids Meet SPD K9 Lacka in Meet and Greet

SUPERIOR, Wis.– It’s common to see people bringing their dogs to the park to play and see some new faces. And on Thursday the Superior Police Department brought one of their dogs to do just that.

Put on by the Northland K9 Foundation and the SPD, a small crowd of families met Officer Jeff Herriman and K9 Lacka at Heritage Park for a meet and greet with the police dog Lacka, who’s been with the department since 2017.

“Everybody likes dogs. They get to pet it, they get to interact with it and learn that it’s not this bad menace,” said Herriman.

Kids and adults could ask questions about the K9 while he chased after his toys along with showing off some training equipment. Kids could even throw the toy and watch Lacka chase after it and giving him lots of scratches and attention when he gets back.

“I was amazed how soft his fur was actually,” said Sawyer Slind, who was with her sister and grandmother. “I never saw a dog run that fast.”

“I did not know how much it cost and I thought it was really cool that there’s a local business that supplies their food for the k9’s,” said sawyer’s grandmother Dede Herrick.

K9 meet and greets weren’t able to take place in 2020. Lacka’s handler Harriman says it’s a great way for the public and police to meet in a neutral spot and come together to build strong bonds in the community.

“They like to see us so they can see us as people too. And we have a skill, a dog that can help us do our jobs and they get a chance to meet that dog too and it gives us an opportunity to hopefully open their eyes to things that maybe they didn’t know before,” said Harriman.

The Northland K9 Foundation will be doing another meet and greet at the UWS football field on August 10th. Where over 10 police dogs from around the Northland will be in attendance.