Westmoreland prison dog pulled from service over anxiety issues

Kira, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, has been on the job at the Westmoreland County Prison since she was a puppy.

On Monday, the county’s prison board took the drug-detecting dog out of service after her handler said she is struggling with anxiety issues related to the electronics at the jail and can no longer perform her duties at the Hempfield lockup.

“She’s not able to cope with the prison. The jail’s computer systems are causing her to shut down and not work,” said Kira’s handler, Lt. Curtis Tringhese.

The dog has been in service since the summer of 2020 and will continue to be cared for by Tringhese. Officials said they have held preliminary talks to sell Kira to a police department in Georgia.

Tringhese, who also served as handler of the jail’s previous two police dogs, said Kira was used to search for illegal substances at the lockup and was called on to assist with investigations at other government facilities and schools throughout the region.

Warden Bryan Kline said the county has spent about $5,500 to train and care for Kira. The dog initially was purchased with funds administered by the district attorney’s office from money seized as part of drug investigations.

“We will continue the program and are looking to get another drug dog,” Kline said.

The prison board, which includes the three county commissioners, Controller Jeff Balzer, Sheriff James Albert and District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, on Monday conducted its monthly meeting at the jail for the first time in nearly three years.

The prison board last met at the jail in October 2019. State law requires it convene at least three times a year at the lockup, but those visits were set aside during the coronavirus pandemic. Only Balzer and Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher were board members in 2019, when the last meeting was held at the jail. Thrasher attended Monday’s meeting by telephone.

Kline said the jail has slowly returned to normal operations in recent months. In-person visitation with inmates was restarted this year.

As of Monday afternoon, 12 inmates of the more than 540 are incarcerated at the jail are infected with the virus and are quarantined in special cells. Kline said 360 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed among inmates since the start of this year.