Northwestern Bank donates to Dilworth Police’s Officer Keely

Officer Keely is the face of the department's first dog therapy program.

DILWORTH, Minn. — Dilworth’s Officer Keely isn’t your typical member of the police force.

“As soon as we found her, we knew that she’d be the one to face this program for the Dilworth Police Department,” said Chief Ty Sharpe.

Keely is the poster dog for the department’s first therapy dog program.

Along with attending community events, the 10-month-old pup will serve to brighten the day of both those on the force and other community members in need.

“When we have major incidents, if there is a crime victim, if there’s kids, anyone that just needs that extra attention from us to help during sudden critical incidents, she’ll be part of that,” said Sharpe.

Keely has an important role in the community, but like most dogs she doesn’t come cheap.

When Chief Sharpe was looking for a way to help fund the program, he was confident one local business would be willing to help.

“We anticipated this program was going to cost us about $2,500 a year. When I was looking at the program and thinking of it more as a community program, my first thought went to Northwestern Bank,” said Sharpe.

The chief had gone to the right place.

“Commitment to community is one of the core values of Northwestern Bank and so this just fit right in perfectly with that,” said Northwestern Bank President John Satrom. “When we got the message from Chief Ty, we said absolutely. This is just something that we really wanted to be able to do and help with.”

The $2,500 donated will fund the first year for Officer Keely in the program. It will help cover the cost for food and veterinary needs.

Northwestern bank says giving to this program was a no-brainer because Keely’s work will support the entire Dilworth community and that is something the business will always stand behind.