K-9 Dano - Narcotics Detection
Handler: Captain Tim Pino

Active Duty: September 1, 2002 - December 11, 2014

Accolades:
2013 - Dano's Law
2010 - Recovered $104k in drug money
2005 - Recovered $150k in marijuana
2004 - Recovered $55k in heroin

K-9 Nemo - Explosives Detection & Evidence Recovery
Handler: Officer Albert Bauer

Active Duty: March 1, 2004 - June 30, 2014

K-9 Boone - Human Scent Detection Tracking
Handler: Officer Thomas Wallace

Active Duty: April 1, 2005 - June 30, 2014

Boone is a pure bred Bloodhound that has been specially trained along with Officer Tom Wallace to assist the Sheriff's Office in recovering missing persons.

K-9 Wildman - Human Scent Detection Tracking
Handler: Officer Thomas Wallace

Active Duty: November 25, 2014 - July 29, 2016

Wildman is a pure bred Bloodhound that has been specially trained along with Officer Tom Wallace to assist the Sheriff's Office in recovering missing persons.

K-9 Diesel - Explosives Detection & Tracking
Handler: Officer Albert Bauer

Active Duty: June 1, 2014 - June 29, 2022

Officer Bauer and K-9 Diesel have been partners since 2014. They are trained in patrol and explosive detection. They attended both NJSP and Union County Sheriff’s Office for their K-9 training.

K-9 Billy - Accelerant Detection
Handler: Officer Albert Bauer

Active Duty: July 1, 2016 - June 29, 2022

K-9 Billy was donated by K-9 Soldiers, Inc., operated by J.T. Gabriel in Frenchtown. Billy was named in honor of Billy Manzio, who served in the U.S. Army and was a Vietnam War veteran. Billy is the county's first arson K-9, making Somerset County one of the few in New Jersey to have one.

Officer Bauer and K-9 Billy have been partners since 2016, certified in accelerant detection, which includes testing his ability to detect up to 10 different odors and seek them out. Billy is used to look for accelerants in suspicious fires. Intimidating at first with his ferocious bark, Billy is a true sweetheart who loves giving hugs and slobbery kisses.

K-9 Apex - Narcotics Detection
Handler: Officer David Daneker

Active Duty: December 19, 2014 - January 27, 2023

Officer Daneker and K-9 Apex have been a Certified Canine team since 2014. Apex has been trained along with Officer Daneker to sniff and locate the presence of narcotics (and narcotics scented U.S. currency).

K-9 Apex has assisted numerous local, county, state and federal agencies in the war on drugs.

K-9 Apex wants you to know that drugs are very dangerous and if anyone asks you to do drugs you have to SAY NO, WALK AWAY & TELL AN ADULT!

K-9 "Finn" - Narcotics Detection
Handler: Officer Edward Pawlick

Active Duty: June 2015  - January 27, 2023

K9 Finnbar is name for Saint Finbarr of Cork County, Ireland, Gaelic translation is “fair headed”, and he represents “the one who watches over and protects the one he is with.”  

K9 Finn assisted local and federal law enforcement agencies locate and seize narcotics utilizing search warrants.

K-9 Casanova - Narcotics Detection
Handler: Officer Michael Kromar

Active Duty: December 17, 2021  - September 7, 2023

K9 Casanova was named after the late pet of donor Dr. Caesar DePaco. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit received a generous donation from Dr. DePaco and his wife Deanna Padovani-DePaco. The donation was used to purchase Casanova and our vehicle along with expanding the Sheriff’s Office K9 unit to include the Correction’s Division. The DePaco family has donated and supported K-9 units and Law Enforcement agencies throughout the state and across the nation. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for their continued support.

K-9 Benning -Tracking / Explosives Detection
Handler: Officer Justin Nielsen

Active Duty: December 2, 2022 - January 31, 2025

K9 Benning was born in Hunterdon, NJ by Alkarah Kennel. He was named after the United States Army Installation, Fort Benning located in Georgia by his handler who proudly served in the US Army. K9 Bennings body armor was donated by Mary Stabile & Laura Quinn of the Living For A Cause, an organization that works to effect positive change in the world. This team was certified in Explosives by the United States Police Canine Association in 2023 and completed the National Odor Recognition test in 2024.

This team was utilized for pre-event as well as emergent requests for explosive detection in Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Morris counties. Throughout his career, K9 Benning was deployed on fifty-six explosive sweeps and fourteen tracks. We are grateful for K9 Benning’s service!

K-9 "Mac" - Patrol and Explosives
Handler: Officer Edward Pawlick

Active Duty: June 1, 2018 - October 13, 2025

K9 Mac was generously donated by Dr. Caesar and Deanna DePaço, the founder and CEO of Summit Nutritionals International®. Renowned for their humanitarian and philanthropic efforts, the Dr. Caesar DePaço family finds true fulfillment in giving back to law enforcement and the K9 society. Whitehouse Veterinary Hospital (Dr. Karan Oberhansley and Dr. Brett Newton) continue to donate all veterinary care.

K9 Mac is named after the late Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Det. Matthew McGinley who passed away on January 27, 2016. K9 Mac is trained to locate missing persons (criminal and non-criminal) along with affiliated evidence. He is also utilized for pre-event safety sweeps as well as emergent threats regarding explosive devices. .

K-9 Caesar - Patrol and Narcotics
Handler: Officer Daniel Soffer

Active Duty: December 17, 2021 - October 10, 2025

K9 Caesar was generously donated by Dr. Caesar and Deanna DePaço, the founder and CEO of Summit Nutritionals International®. Renowned for their humanitarian and philanthropic efforts, the Dr. Caesar DePaço family finds true fulfillment in giving back to law enforcement and the K9 society.

K9 Caesar’s body armor was donated by Mary Stabile & Laura Quinn of the Living For A Cause, an organization that works to effect positive change in the world. They have received an accolade from the NJ Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association and a rating of “excellence” in narcotics detection from the United States Police Canine Association. This canine team is also the first patrol canine team to be a part of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team.