Waushara County probes sheriff over K9 stipend payments

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The Waushara County Board voted unanimously at their meeting Tuesday to launch an independent investigation into Sheriff Walter Zuehlke receiving stipends for his law enforcement dog Argo while not keeping up with the K9 trainings.

An investigation from The Badger Project found that Zuehlke received more than $25,000 in care payments for his law enforcement dog over nearly six years after he quit the trainings when he became sheriff in 2019.

The sheriff earned a salary of $99,066 in 2023, and receives 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.

By voting for the third-party investigation, the board is directing county administration and the county attorney to first ask the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation to look into the matter, Waushara County Board Chair John Jarvis told The Badger Project. If they decline to investigate, the board told the county officials to find another independent body to do it, he said.

Zuehlke did not respond to a message seeking comment but had previously told The Badger Project that he transitioned Argo to a public relations role once he became sheriff in 2019. He later noted in a statement posted to the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page that he continued taking the stipend under a 2019 memo from the former county administrator.

But that document is vague, county board members noted. It’s unclear if the sheriff was supposed to continue the K9 trainings to continue receiving the stipends, as K9 handlers are usually expected to do

Though the state of Wisconsin does not regulate the certification and continued training of law enforcement dogs, K9 handlers and their animals need to regularly train to be able to use them in criminal prosecutions, courts have ruled.

Zuehlke actually continued receiving payments for Argo until a few months after it died in August of 2024. He apparently never retired the dog from its law enforcement status when it got too old to work, as is customary with police dogs.

After The Badger Project’s investigation was posted online, Zuehlke announced in his statement that he had reimbursed the county for the $1,245 in payments he had received after the dog died. Kapp called it an “oversight.” Zuehlke said in his statement that he was unaware he was receiving the payments until The Badger Project’s story noted it.

The board also directed county officials to give it updates on the investigation.

In related news, the board also referred accusations made in the public comment section of sexual harassment in the county jail to the county’s public safety committee to investigate. The sheriff oversees the county jail.

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