ASHLAND Ashland Police Department’s newest officer wagged her tail as she listened intently to Mayor Chuck Charles administering her oath, including faithfully performing her duties.
Chief Todd Kelley officially introduced Mabel to the City of Ashland during Thursday’s commission meeting.
“Mabel is already on the go,” Kelley said. “She’s already started to work and we’ve seen significant results so far.”
APD received Mabel from from Our Rescue — formerly known as Operation Underground Railroad. Our Rescue called APD in October 2024, and by Nov. 15, 2024, K9 handler Det. CC Porter met Mabel in Indianapolis. They trained together for two weeks before coming home to Ashland.
“APD is receiving this K9 at the perfect time as we are restarting our K9 program from over 45 years ago,” Kelley said.
Mabel is an Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 who is uniquely equipped to assist law enforcement in uncovering hidden electronic storage devices.
Directed by Porter on Thursday, Mabel demonstrated her skills in front of a large crowd in the commission chambers. She quickly discovered four hidden devices — micro SD cards hidden in various places, such as the dais, inside a fake car key and on the interior of a false Dr. Pepper can — and a hard drive in a fake book.
“She’s pretty awesome,” Porter said to the audience before directing his attention to Mabel. “Aren’t you girl?”
“We were fortunate to receive this amazing animal,” Kelley said.
The chief said Mabel is one of 172 ESD K9s in the world and one of 110 affiliated with the Our Rescue organization. She is just the fourth ESD K9 in Kentucky.
The Ashland Police patch and badge are clearly on display atop Mabel’s blonde fur.
Charles said he worked with a dog for seven years as part of the Alexandria, Virginia, police force.
“It protected my life,” he said before administering Mabel’s oath. “Electronic dogs were unheard of back then. They’re incredible animals with what they can do. I’m proud to be able to install Mabel.”
ESD K9s’ duties are to uncover concealed electronic devices often used to store illicit content including child sexual abuse material.
“Using their keen sense of smell they can detect chemical compounds like SD cards, tablets and external hard drives, no matter how cleverly they’re concealed,” Kelley said. “Their role is invaluable. Traditional searches are unable to locate these tiny yet critical pieces of evidence ensuring no device is overlooked.”
Our Rescue, according to its website (ourrescue.org), is a global collective, boldly fighting to eradicate sex trafficking and child exploitation.