Catasauqua K-9 Police Officer John Wiseman introduced Zora to Catasauqua Borough Nov. 15.

“She is about a year younger than Jack was when he started,” Wiseman said. “She still has quite a bit of puppy in her, but this is only her second day. She will be fine.”

Wiseman has been training with Zora for the past eight weeks at Progressive Canine. This is the same group that trained Jack, the K-9 who recently died. Wiseman is happy with the results. At one time, Wiseman indicated that he might switch to a different breed.

“She is the same breed as Jack, Belgian Malinois,” he said. “I told (Catasauqua Police) Chief Kish that we would take whatever dog was recommended by the trainers.”

Funding for the K-9 unit has been from borough residents and fundraisers conducted for the police department by area organizations. If there is any shortfall, borough council is committed to providing funds where needed.

“We have not had a problem with funding,” Kish said. “There are plenty of organizations that want to help the borough keep a canine on the force.”

The dog and training package run about $13,000. The police raised $10,000 so far and expect to have the remainder shortly. The K-9 program is popular in the borough. There is no intention of ending it.

“Since this is one of her first days on the job, we are still getting her familiar with the borough and the people she will work with. I’ll start taking her around once she gets familiar with everything,” Wiseman said.