Jynx is a female German Shepherd that was born in February of 2006 in Holland. She was imported and trained by Southern Ohio Police K9 in Brown County where her and her handler attended training together. The team completed their training in June of 2009 and have been serving the citizens of Goshen Township ever since. Jynx is only the third K9 in history to be part of the Goshen Township Police Department.

Jynx’s handler, Officer Matt Bucksath, began his career in law enforcement in 1999 and has been a K9 handler since 2005. When Officer Bucksath’s first K9 passed away suddenly due to a brain aneurysm in July of 2008, The Matt Haverkamp Foundation stepped in to replace his K9. Without the Foundation’s assistance, the Goshen Township Police Department’s K9 program would have ended due to financial constraints.

Jynx has proven to be instrumental in assisting officers in Goshen Township and surrounding jurisdictions with the war on drugs and deterring criminal activity. Throughout her career, Jynx has also assisted agencies in Clermont, Hamilton, Clinton, Brown, and Warren Counties as well as being deployed on call outs with the Clermont County SRT Team. Jynx provides support on a daily basis to officers in Goshen Township – most notably she is quite often the sole back-up officer for her handler who often works alone due to financial constraints. She has had many successes throughout her career and is well known for her relentless tracking skills. Jynx and Officer Bucksath have apprehended more than 60 subjects on tracks during their time together and have been deployed more than 700 times on a wide variety of calls since 2009.

Jynx began establishing her reputation on a cold winter’s night in February of 2010, when Union Township Police called on her to assist them in locating a felonious assault suspect that fled on foot in the area of Interstate 275 and Hopper Hill Road. The suspect had assaulted a driver on Interstate 275 by slashing his throat with a knife and then fled on foot into the dark of night. Jynx and Officer Bucksath arrived on the scene 45 minutes after the assault had taken place. The temperature when they arrived that night was -5 degrees and falling. Jynx was deployed and immediately located the scent and began tracking southbound along the highway. She tracked for 1/2 mile before crossing all 8 lanes of the highway onto the northbound lanes, never lifting her nose from the ground. Jynx proceeded to track south along the roadway before making an abrupt turn back into the wind. She pulled Officer Bucksath up a steep embankment to a barrier wall where she located the suspect hiding in a briar patch. The suspect was wearing a brown Carhardt jacket which camouflaged him from officers. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident. It was later discovered that the suspect was a vagrant with numerous felony warrants out for his arrest. Without Jynx, this suspect would have never been brought to justice.

When not patrolling the streets, Jynx participates in school searches along with civic club demonstrations in the community and is a crowd favorite at the annual National Night Out in Goshen, which is held each August. When not at work, she can be found lying on the floor next to her handler at their home with her favorite toy ball in her mouth. She is quite often found playing tug-of-war with Connor and Nick, Officer Bucksath’s sons. At night you will find her sleeping on the floor outside the boys’ bedroom making sure they are safe.

Jynx and Officer Matt Bucksath would like to thank The Matt Haverkamp Foundation for all they have done for Goshen Township and other K9 Units in the Cincinnati area.