How much is that doggie in the window? If you’re Northampton County, the answer is nothing.

Thanks to a generous and anonymous donation, the county is acquiring a drug-sniffing Belgian Malinois to add to its corrections staff. The donation will cover both the purchase and training. It will be the first K-9 ever used in the county.

“We’re very excited about the prospect of a trained K-9 working with our (Northampton County) Department of Corrections,” said county Executive Lamont McClure. “We see this as an opportunity to lower the costs of drug testing and reduce our man-hours.”

The dog will be procured from Progressive K-9 Academy in Walnutport and will be certified and registered with a nationally recognized authority. The dog will be able to detect schedule 1 to schedule 5 drugs and will have training in apprehension.

A dog with this kind of education can cost $15,000 with another $3,000 per year for recertification.

The American Kennel Club describes the Belgium Malinois as “confident, smart and hardworking. They are highly sought-after as police and military K-9s.”

Taught to detect both illegal and prescription drugs, the 2-year-old canine is expected to save money on drug investigations and to reduce man-hours. The dog will be based in the work release facilities in West Easton and on the main campus for the jail. There is no plan to use the dog in the juvenile facility.

Suspicious powders and substances are regularly seized through the mail or inmate intake. With a keen sense of smell, the K-9 will be able to give an instant response on seized materials instead of having to submit everything for laboratory testing. In 2017, 137 suspicious powders were submitted for testing, with 25.5 percent of them yielding a positive result for illegal drugs.

McClure told council Aug. 2 each time a suspicious powder is sent for testing, it costs the county $113. He believes there will be fewer false positives with a K-9.

Lt. Ryan Heinrich will be working with the dog on floating shifts as the county’s first K-9 investigator. The dog will live with him.