Sheriff Walter Zuehlke stopped training ‘Argo’ in 2019 after his election, but continued taking $400 monthly checks from the county, even after the dog died, an investigation by The Badger Project found.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

Waushara County Sheriff Walter Zuehlke collected thousands of dollars in county payments for his German Shepherd police dog Argo for years without continuing instruction for the dog in his care, according to an investigation by The Badger Project.

Zuehlke, a K9 officer before he ran for office, was first elected sheriff in 2018. After becoming the county’s top cop in January 2019, he quit the law enforcement K9 training while continuing to receive more than $20,000 in K9 payments from the county, The Badger Project estimates, based on county records and sources.

Law enforcement dogs are trained for a variety of duties, including detecting drugs and explosives, tracking suspects and missing persons, and protecting officers – skills that experts say require consistent training.

The Waushara County Sheriff’s Office has several K9 officers receiving county subsidies for the care and maintenance of their law enforcement dogs. Those officers have continued the training, according to county records.

In an email, Zuehlke said Argo remained in service when Zuehlke became sheriff, but was moved to a public relations role instead of an active policing one.

“We took a majority of the walk-in requests (from) day-to-day citizens that wanted to meet a Waushara County K9 or donate to the K9 Program and demos,” he wrote.

Zuehlke claimed he brought the dog to work with him “every day until he (Argo) retired,” but two former sheriff’s office employees disputed that recollection. The employees asked to remain unidentified because they said they fear retaliation from the most powerful law enforcement officer in the county.

The sheriff brought the dog occasionally, the ex-employees said, but hardly “every day.” And Zuehlke frequently denied requests from the county 911 service when a K9 was requested, one former employee said.

The sheriff collected $4,860 in 2022 and $4,980 in 2023, according to county records obtained by The Badger Project. After Argo died in August 2024, Zuehlke continued receiving a $415 monthly subsidy through November of that year, taking a total of about $4,570 in 2024, county payroll records indicate.

The sheriff earned a salary of $99,066 in 2023, and receives about a 3 percent raise every year, set by the county board, Waushara County Administrator Megan Kapp said. He is making a salary of $105,099 in 2025.

He also collected the K9 payments from 2019 through 2021, sources told The Badger Project. But the county switched to a new accounting system in 2022, and no longer has records of those payments, Kapp said.

A major funder of the county’s K9 program is the local Crimestoppers nonprofit, a citizen organization that supports law enforcement.

The K9 payments to Zuehlke, a longtime K9 officer before his election, were the largest in the department, topping out at $415 per month in 2024, according to documents obtained from the county. Every other K9 officer in the department receives less than $300 a month.

In June of 2023, Zuehlke told the county’s public safety committee that he planned to retire Argo in October or November of that year, according to the minutes from the meetings, but apparently never did. Zuehlke did not respond to a follow-up question about the dog’s retirement.

Some in the community angered by Zuehlke continuing to collect K9 payments without conducting the training contend he is violating his office’s own mission statement, which stresses the “credibility, integrity, fairness, excellence and professionalism” of the department.

The sheriff, a Republican like nearly all elected sheriffs in Wisconsin, said he is undecided about whether to seek a third term next year.

NO OVERSIGHT IN WISCONSIN

In his email to The Badger Project, Zuehlke noted that Wisconsin does not require K9 training and certification. 

Some states do enforce law enforcement K9 standards, but Wisconsin does not, said Brian Noll, secretary of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Canine Handler Association, which trains K9s and their partners.

National law enforcement K9 organizations such as The National Police Canine Association, United States Canine Police Association and North American Police Dog Work Association set K9 training standards, said Samantha Standley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice.

The industry standard for ongoing K9 training is widely considered to be a minimum of 16 hours per month, Noll said.

For K9 evidence to be considered reliable in court, law enforcement K9s must continue maintenance training, Noll said.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.