K9 Lady retires, county welcomes new K9 dog and handler

By Brandi Makuski

The Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office this week announced the installation of a new K9 officer.

K9 Lexa, and her human partner, Deputy Brad Mathwich, took their places in the county’s K9 Unit on Monday. They take over where Deputy John White and K9 Lady leave off; they two retired from their spots earlier this month, as White took a different position at PCSO.

White and Lady were presented with an appreciation plaque, and Lady was given a retirement badge, during a special ceremony on Oct. 10.

“I never thought I’d be standing here this quick, the time just flew by,” said White, a 13-year veteran of the PCSO. “It’s the coolest, most challenging, most rewarding I’ve ever had in law enforcement.”

But White and Lady leave some big shoes to fill. Sheriff Mike Lukas said the duo conducted 1,100 deployments, perform 70-plus demonstrations, and helped secure 461 arrests over their eight-and-a-half years in service.

Mathwich and Lexa, an 18-month-old Belgian Malinois, trained for five weeks at Jessiffany Canine Services in Iron Ridge, Wis. The dual-purpose dog is trained for drug detection and person/article tracking.

The dog and training cost the department about $16,000, Lukas said. Funding for the K9 Unit comes from forfeitures and private donations.

“This is a lifelong goal of mine,” said Mathwich, 41, who is a 10-year veteran of PCSO. He added the K9 training course was “one of the most challenging I’ve been to.”

“I got to watch the other dogs work over the years and I remember being extremely impressed with their capabilities,” he said. “They’re super intelligent, they’re very personable; when it’s time to work, she works. The dogs really just make us do our jobs better.”

For more information on the K9 program, or to donate, go to https://www.co.portage.wi.us/department/sheriff-s-office/operations-division/k-9-unit.

Mathwich lives in Portage Co. with his wife and family.