CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The City of Cheyenne has received a donation to bring on three new K-9s.

On Friday, city staff and members of the Cheyenne Police Department met with representatives of Wyoming Horse Racing LLC for a donation ceremony at the Cheyenne Public Safety Center. The horse racing company presented the city with an oversized $33,000 check, which will be used to bring on three new K-9 units sometime in the future.

Nick Hughes is president of Pacesetter Racing & Gaming, which acquired Wyoming Horse Racing in December 2021. Over the summer, he asked Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins how the company could help out the city. Collins said several of the city’s K-9s were approaching retirement, and so the city would need to recruit new dogs soon.

“That was a no-brainer that we wanted to do it,” Hughes said. “I think the initial thought was that I could do one [dog],” Hughes said. “It was our pleasure to do all three.”

Collins said K-9 units are an invaluable asset to Cheyenne’s law enforcement because they help deescalate altercations that may otherwise be violent.

“Our officers, they work for about 25 years,” Mayor Collins said. “But our dogs really do age in dog years, and so they don’t last 25 years. And so we have to replenish them on a regular basis. So that’s where this gift is such a great thing for us.”

Two of the dogs in attendance at Friday’s gathering, Maverick and Tyler, will retire sometime in 2025, police public information officer Alex Farkas said. Another third dog will also be decommissioned. The department currently has four K-9 units. Police animals typically retire due to age- or medical-related reasons, Farkas said.

Wyoming Horse Racing recently put a stake in Laramie County’s future with its Horse Palace Swan Ranch facility near Exit 4 off Interstate 25. Hughes said that the facility is bringing in significant tax dollars to the local economy and that many of the clientele are from out of state.