New Castle County Police Department welcomes 4 new K-9s to the unit

• K-9 Nox is a 1½-year-old male Belgian Malinois from Slovakia who is trained in patrol procedures and explosive and loves to play when he is not at work. His partner is K-9 handler Master Corporal Tanyer. 
• K-9 Fiasko is another 1½-year-old male Belgian Malinois from Slovakia and is partnered with K-9 handler Master Corporal Digati. Fiasko is trained in patrol procedures and narcotics and loves to play with his ball. 
• K-9 Nova, the lady of the bunch, is a 2-year-old female Belgian Malinois from Germany who is partnered with Officer First Class Hartlove. Nova is trained in patrol procedures and narcotics and likes to learn new tasks.  
• K-9 Atlas is a 2-year-old male German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois cross from Germany who likes to play fetch when he is not at work. Atlas is partnered with K-9 handler Corporal Middendorf. 

The Canine Unit started in 1986 with now-retired officer Stan Downward and a bloodhound named Jesse, according the New Castle County Police Department.  

Now, there are 14 teams involved in search and patrol work, and some are trained in explosives detections.  

Training for the unit is six months long, with each dog being cross-trained to perform searches for missing persons, contraband and routine patrol work.