The Poughkeepsie Police Department (a small city north of New York City) is getting a new officer this week. Like most police dogs, she is well-muscled and sleek. Unlike most k9s, she’s just 60 pounds with a smiling mouth, lolling tongue and a lovely caramel-and-white coat.
Kiah is not just fighting crime, but also stereotypes as she becomes the first-ever pit bull to be “employed” by the police department. She graduates from a special K9 training school this Friday.
She is one of the dogs from Animal Farm Foundation (AFF), a non-profit animal rescue and advocacy group that is dedicated to ending pit bull stereotypes. AFF partnered with Universal K9 and Austin Pets Alive! to rescue pitties and then train them for police detection work. Kiah is going to be one of the first graduates of this special program.
In addition to detection, Kiah has shown prowess in sniffing out humans, so she will be used for missing person searches.
The breed doesn’t matter, says officer Justin Bruzgul, Poughkeepsie police officer and Kiah’s new partner. What does matter is the drive and willingness to work, and Kiah has that.
Watch the entire video about Kiah and her handler below:
It’s such a win-win-win situation: dog gets rescued, dog gets a home, police get a free K9 unit. Congratulations Kiah and Officer Justin Bruzgul! We can’t wait to hear the stories about how Kiah saves the day.
