‘Atlas’ Joins the Superior Police Department

SUPERIOR, Wis.–Since 2021, the Superior Police Department has been running a one-man band for their K-9 unit. But after months of training and a generous donation by Cenovus, their newest member of their K-9 unit, Atlas, is ready to serve the city of Superior.

“You spend four months with anybody and you get to know them and it is no different than with a dog. He knows me and I know him,” said K-9 Handler Charles Mahlen.

Four months ago, Atlas was still undergoing his training to one day become a part of the Superior Police Department K-9 unit. Working hard with handler Charles Mahlen on obedience, scent, and apprehension training Atlas proved to be a natural talent in  narcotics deduction and suspect apprehension.

“To the point where, like I said earlier as a handler with the dog, there were times where I couldn’t keep up,” said Mahlen. “He was so quick to enter a room and find an odor and give an alert that I would miss it.”

Before Atlas, only one other K-9 was a part of the department. But after Cenovus saw a need for another dog on staff, they donated $58,000 to the department to pay for Atlas.

“Last fall, we found out that there was a need for a new K-9 in the Superior Police Department,” said General Manager of Cenovus Matt Gunn. “We offered to purchase Atlas for the police department and cover all of his training.”

“Superior Police Department wishes to express our sincere gratitude for the substantial donation that we received from Cenovus,” said Captain Paul Winterscheidt.

For handler Mahlen, he saw how having a K-9 on staff helps with community and officer safety, as well as inviting the people to know more about the K-9 on staff and the department as a whole.

With Atlas’ strong nose, there’s no doubt about the success he will have with the team. K-9 units are not only used for criminal apprehension and drug seizures, but also available for aiding and finding missings persons.

“He’s very, very intelligent but mostly fearless,” said Mahlen.