Wayne Sanderson supports area drug effort

Wayne-Sanderson Farms hopes to put a major dent in drug trafficking and crime in this North Carolina mountain community with a $21,000 donation to help fund the purchase and training of a $40,000+ drug detection dog, the first in the small town’s history. With a major interstate abutting Dobson as it bisects the state of North Carolina, the I-77 corridor serves as an illicit drug supply pipeline for Dobson and Surry County, rural regions of Appalachia to the north, as well as major drug markets in the northeast.

Wayne-Sanderson Complex Manager Matthew Wooten said he initially wanted to make a small donation on behalf of the Dobson operation to help fund the effort to procure a drug detection dog but corporate leadership had bigger ideas. “We made a proposal to corporate leadership and the support was overwhelming to do even more—with a larger corporate contribution we were able to cover half the cost of the new canine,” said Wooten. “We all want the same thing—a safe, drug-free community to work in and raise our families, so we’re proud do our part,” said Wooten.

Dobson Police Chief Shawn Myers said recent drug stops have turned up ever-larger shipments of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine, some of it bound for Dobson and Surry County users. “Without this donation from Wayne-Sanderson Farms, we wouldn’t be able to deploy a K-9 unit for a year, maybe two,” said Dobson Police Chief Shawn Myers. “There’s a lot of drugs and misery heading up the road and we’re seeing more all the time—not just on the interstate but here in town, so a K-9 unit will make a big difference that positively affects everyone in this area,” said Myers. The eighteen-month-old German Shorthair Pointer is a breed known for its strong olfactory capabilities and excels in drug detection as well as human and article searches. The specialty canine had to be ordered five months out from delivery, and will get three weeks of training with the Dobson PD’s K-9 officer before the city’s newest officer will be on the trail.