If you find yourself driving south on I-75 about halfway between Cordele and Tifton in another month or two and spot a police K-9 unit that looks awfully familiar, that’s probably because you’ve seen it driving in the city by a Sandy Springs Police officer.
The Sandy Springs City Council approved during its Aug. 4 meeting donating a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe complete with K-9 apparatus to the city of Ashburn, Georgia, for its K-9 unit. Ashburn has a K-9 police dog unit but didn’t have a vehicle with a kennel in it until now.
Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone said the city’s first K-9 unit had 136,000 miles and was due to be made surplus. He said removing the equipment would cost almost more than the vehicle was worth. To remove and dispose of the equipment would cost $1,600. The vehicle’s auction value was $2,200, Clark Evens, fleet services manager, said in a report to the council.
DeSimone said the Sandy Springs identification on the SUV’s exterior will be removed before the donation.
For Ashburn, which has to leave its K-9 at the precinct until a call, it will mean the end of delays while an officer goes to pick up the dog.