Meet the New Castle Police Department’s newest recruit — a Belgian Malinois-Shepherd cross named Kipp.

At only six months old, Kipp is the department’s first K-9.

“He’s pretty young for starting out on the road, but we’re super excited,” Kipp’s handler, New Castle Police Department Patrol Officer Jerry Alcorta, said. “He did great throughout the academy and his training. We’re looking forward to seeing how he can really help us out as a PD and the town.”

Kipp completed a six-week academy at Johnson’s K-9 in Colorado Springs, where he was trained to detect four narcotics — cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl. He passed his certification test, conducted by the American Law Enforcement K-9 Association, on Friday.

During the test, Kipp was tasked with searching six rooms for various narcotics — four with and two without — and alerting his handler where the narcotics were located. The second part of Kipp’s test was a search of four vehicles — two containing narcotics and two without.

Kipp passed both portions of the test with flying colors and is now ready for deployment.

“He’s a six month old dog, so for how old he is and the training that he went through, he’s performing better than anticipated and expected,” Alcorta said. “He’s doing really well and ready to hit the road.”

Alcorta pitched the idea of establishing a K-9 unit to Police Chief Chuck Burrows and Lt. Stu Curry in October.

“I think it’s fantastic for the town and for the community. We’ve been received very well by the community,” Burrows said.

Alcorta, who has been caring for Kipp since the dog was two months old, has prior experience with working dogs. He trained his own hunting dog and previously owned a personal protection Belgian Malinois trained in obedience and bite work.

As a handler, it’s his bond with the dogs that means the most to him.

“Along with the bond, it’s seeing them develop a skill and what they are able to do and willing to do and their work ethic,” he added. “It’s really rewarding when you invest so much time and energy and heart into a dog and see them perform successfully.”

In November, Kipp was donated to the department by a breeder in Denver and they “hit the ground running with it,” Alcorta said. The department raised money for K-9 equipment, like Kipp’s patrol vests, and training through fundraisers like Spike’s K-9 Fund and a donation from the Aspen Philanthropic Association.

Garfield County and Sheriff Lou Vallario also donated a used K-9 vehicle to the police department. The vehicle is equipped with a kennel that will protect Kipp from suspects Alcorta is transporting and a heat alarm sensor that monitors the vehicle’s temperature.

In six to eight months, Kipp will return to the K-9 academy for apprehension training. In the meantime, he’ll brush up on his narcotic detection skills in High Desert Police K-9 Association training groups.

“This is New Castle’s first K-9. We’re just really excited to get the program up and running,” Alcorta said. “I’m excited as his handler. I’ve had him since he was eight weeks old — he’s been in our house and under my care since he was barely able to go home, so we’re looking forward to getting out and working.”