Dracut Police Officer Zach Coleman stands with K9 Viper at Old Home Day. (Photo courtesy Dracut PD)

DRACUT — Chief Peter Bartlett and the Dracut Police Department are recognizing the career of K9 Viper, who recently retired, and welcoming K9 Rogan to the department.

K9 Viper has served with the Dracut Police Department and his partner, Officer Zach Coleman, for 11 years, and was certified as a Patrol and Narcotics Detection K9. Viper had hundreds of deployments over the course of his career, and located numerous missing persons and suspects.

Officer Coleman and Viper were part of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) K9 Unit for nine years, and assisted with various search and rescue and SWAT missions.

Viper retired on Dec. 21, and is now living at home with Officer Coleman, where he will enjoy a well-deserved retirement.

Officer Coleman will now partner with K9 Rogan, a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois that was acquired by Dracut Police on Dec. 23 from East Coast K9.

K9 Rogan and Officer Coleman play together outside of the Dracut Police station. (Courtesy Dracut Police Department)

Officer Coleman and Rogan completed the Boston Police K9 Academy on Jan. 24, and were certified to track missing persons, suspects, and to conduct building searches, evidence recovery, area searches, and apprehensions. Rogan also learned aggression control and obedience.

Officer Coleman and Rogan are now on duty, but will continue to train at the Boston Police K9 Academy to obtain an explosive ordinance detection certification, which will enable Rogan to also locate firearms and explosives.

Officer Coleman will also remain part of the NEMLEC K9 Unit, with Rogan as his new partner.

In one of his first nights on duty, Rogan tracked the scent of a shoplifting suspect from a local store to a home in town, and an investigation into the incident is now expected to lead to charges.

K9 Rogan is a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois who is certified by the Boston Police K9 Academy. (Courtesy Dracut Police Department)

“Rogan is a very energetic K9 that enjoys searching and being rewarded with his toys,” said Officer Coleman. “Rogan displays high focus and clear-headedness, coupled with his high drive and attentiveness, making him a great police K9. Rogan has been a joy to train with and I am very excited to see what an asset he will be to our department.”

“Officer Coleman is an experienced and professional K9 handler, and we could not be more pleased so far by the performance of his new partner, K9 Rogan,” said Chief Bartlett. “We are pleased to introduce this newest member of Dracut Police to our community.”