The Mount Laurel Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 191 will host a fundraiser for the Mount Laurel Police Department’s (MLPD) K-9 unit at Magnify Brewing Company in Medford on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. Tickets will include unlimited Magnify beer, unlimited food, time to meet with members of the K-9 team, live entertainment and more. All proceeds will benefit the MLPD K-9 unit, assisting with training, equipment and ongoing program needs.
“The days that you’re tired and you don’t want to go, they want to go,” said Sgt. Kyle Gardner, supervisor of the MLPD K-9 unit. “They don’t see bad in the world, and they’re happy to be at work. It’s a passion and I can’t imagine not being a part of it.”
A Mount Laurel native, Gardner has always loved dogs since he was little. He currently handles two K-9s – Drake and Cooper. Drake, born in 2017, is a Labrador Retriever certified in tracking to help find lost children, missing people and criminal suspects. He finished his training in April of 2020 for narcotics detection and is nationally certified in scent detection through the United States Police Canine Association. Cooper, a Belgian Malinois named after Eagles player Cooper DeJean, specializes in explosive detection and tracking, assisting with the search for lost children, missing persons and criminal suspects, as well as suspect apprehension. Cooper graduated from the New Jersey State Police Canine Academy in 2025. The MLPD currently has six K-9s and five handlers, the most that the department has ever had. The handlers consistently take the dogs out to visit schools and attend township events, Gardner shared, so that people can see what these four-legged heroes are capable of. Fundraisers like the one on Oct. 23 will help assist the K-9 unit with necessities including education for the handler and the dog, equipment, vet bills, food and more.
“The K-9s are a great tool for the community,” Gardner said. “They are a great resource for bridging the gap and building relationships and partnerships in the community, and they keep the community safe. They’re a great resource to have and a luxury.”
All officers take their K-9 home when the shift ends, making it more of a bigger responsibility, Gardner explained. It’s not like a gun that can be locked in a safe, he added, the dogs of course must be fed, bathed and well taken care of, but they’re part of the family. It’s a big part of the officer’s life to spend so much time with their K-9 and when the dogs know it’s time to go to work, they’re always ready and willing to take anything on.
“The more you put in, the more you get out so when your dog performs and has a successful track, it’s rewarding because you work as a team,” Gardner said. “The dog doesn’t choose its handler, we choose the dog, so they’re only as good as their handler so the more effort you put in, the better they will be.”
For more information, visit www.mlfop.org or the Lodge’s Facebook.
Cooper, a Belgian Malinois K-9 for the Mount Laurel Police Department, specializes in explosive detection and tracking, assisting with the search for lost children, missing persons and criminal suspects, as well as suspect apprehension.
