Stano, a 17-month-old Belgian Malinois/German shepherd mix, is Deputy Tyler Holbrook’s K9 partner and the duo quickly proved they make the perfect team.

On April 7, Holbrook and Stano’s first day on patrol, the team was called to assist the Gowrie Police Department with a traffic stop, where he was able to sniff out a THC vape pen and other marijuana products. The next day, Stano helped deputies locate baggies containing methamphetamine residue and drug paraphernalia in a vehicle during another traffic stop.

Stano helped with other narcotics arrests on April 9 and 12.

On April 10, Stano was deployed at the front door of a residence where law enforcement believed a federal fugitive was hiding. The subject quickly surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.

-Submitted photo
Webster County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Holbrook spent 200 hours training with his new K9 partner, Stano, before the team hit the roads in Webster County.

Holbrook has been with the sheriff’s office since 2020 and has set his sights on becoming a K9 handler since the beginning. When the sheriff’s office announced last fall that Swamper, who had been the K9 partner of Sgt. Tony Walter since 2015, was ready for retirement and that Walter was ready to pass the torch to the next K9 handler, Holbrook stepped up to take on that role.

In an effort to ease county taxpayers of the burden, Holbrook also led the fundraising efforts for the sheriff’s office to purchase a new K9. In October, Chief Deputy Derek Christie told The Messenger that the initial investment in a new K9 officer is roughly $20,000 — and that doesn’t include the continual upkeep costs like food, veterinary care and continual training.

In February, Holbrook’s hard work paid off as he traveled down to Texas to pick up his new partner — a Belgian Malinois/German shepherd mix named Stano, who came from Poland.

“It still doesn’t seem real sometimes,” Holbrook said of finally realizing his dream to be a K9 handler. “It’s just a great feeling and I’m just happy to be here. It’s indescribable.”

Before they could hit the road, Holbrook and Stano had to complete a 200-hour training course at Tree Town Kennels in Forest City. Since returning to Webster County and starting their work, the team has been busy.

“We’ve been deployed nine times, the majority of those being traffic stops,” Holbrook said. “We’ve had a lot of success. We’ve had multiple narcotic finds that led to arrests.”

Stano is a very friendly and social dog, Holbrook said, but when it’s time to do his job, he’s all business.

“He’s just a machine when it comes to work,” Holbrook said. “He just loves to work, but he’s also very even-keeled and he’ll benefit us in a lot of ways with community events and such.”

Holbrook and Stano will also have to complete a minimum of 16 hours of training each month to keep their certification. Holbrook said he expects they’ll far surpass that requirement.

If their first week on the road is any indication, Holbrook and Stano have a long and successful career together ahead of them.

All that hard work might even earn Stano some extra treats.