Cesh Joins the Holliston Police Department

The Holliston Police Department has added a new name to their rollcall, but this one is a little different: he has four legs.

Cesh began training with Officer Matt Stone in February of this year after a fundraising drive allowed the Police Department to startup their K9 unit.

“I’m used to getting out there and doing my own thing but to have him out there with me has been a completely different way of working,” Stone said.  “Reading him, getting to know him and getting to know his mannerisms and him getting to trust me is a work in progress every day.”

In the short time Cesh (pronounced kesh) has been with the department he's been called upon to search several times, including yesterday’s break-in on Gorwin Drive.

It’s not just Stone that has to work with the Dutch-shepherd and malinois mix. Other officers need to learn when to call on him and what Cesh and Stone go through every day.

“There are lessons learned for the entire department after every time we respond to an event,” Stone said.

Cesh and Stone spend every minute of every day together, not just when they’re on patrol but also at home. When Stone signed up to be the K9 officer, he signed up to bring the dog in to his house as a pet.

“My dog and all of these dogs are police dogs and that is what they have been trained to be,” Assistant Deputy Superintendent of the Plymouth Sherriff’s Department Ken Ballinger said.

Ballinger runs the academy where Stone and Cesh trained earlier this year and even has a hand in breeding the dogs.

“Training is what makes these dogs do what they do but their bonds with their family are what make them excel,” Ballinger said.

Although the suspects in the most recent search got away, Holliston Police Chief John Moore said it was a good opportunity to see what Cesh can do, and he’s confident there will be success in the future.

“The fact that Cesh is out on patrol with him on a regular basis is very helpful to the department,” Moore said.