Interim Police Chief Richard Stanley introduced two new members of the police force to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday: Cago and Rolf, of the recently reinstated K-9 Unit.

The dogs' barks filled the room. "When they're fully trained, they [can go] without muzzles and they act perfectly fine," Stanley said. The dogs are about halfway through their training with the Barnstable County Sheriff's Department, Stanley said.

"OK, dogs! We'll take care of it!," joked Selectman Jane Donahue in response to the barking.

Officers Joseph Cardoza and Michael Phinney were chosen to work with the dogs. After hearing that Cardoza would be working in the unit, San Diego Chargers linebacker and Wareham native Stephen Cooper, who played football with Cardoza in school, purchased Cardoza's new canine partner for the department, Stanley said.

Two of the department's older police cruisers were outfitted with equipment, which was purchased with grant money, to accommodate the dogs, Stanley said.

The dogs are "a tremendous deterrent effect for those who choose to come into the Town of Wareham to break into houses or to break into cars," Stanley said, adding that they are also helpful in searches for missing persons.