K9 Dodger was sworn into the Spur Police Department on the morning of March 2. Later that day, and just seven hours into his first shift, he made a major drug bust, locating 14.3 grams of methamphetamine!
Dodger is a former shelter pup chosen to become a detection dog through a special partnership between Animal Farm Foundation’s Detection Dog Grant Program and Sector K9.
The program is unique in that it selects dogs based on their personality traits rather than their breed. Traditionally, purebred dogs are used for detection which can cost police departments up to $20,000 each.
Thanks to a grant from Animal Farm Foundation, the experts at Sector K9 train dogs to detect drugs, explosives, and weapons. Graduates of the Sector K9 training program are then donated at no cost to police departments and schools.
To date, the program has placed more than 70 dogs in police departments and schools across the country.
The folks at Animal Farm Foundation believe all dogs are individuals and should not be categorized because of their breed. Although Dodger bears the physical traits of a Pit Bull-type dog, this does not define who he is or what he is capable of.
He was chosen for training and service as a drug and weapons detection dog due to his intelligence, high energy, and eagerness to learn.
Dodger and his handler Officer Eric Keaton were one of seven teams that graduated from the detection dog program on Feb. 28 in Ferris, TX.
After breezing through his training and forming a strong bond with Officer Keeton, K9 Dodger demonstrated his detection skills for Spur Police Chief Robert Garcia in an open-air sniff exercise this past Monday.
He and Officer Keeton attended a swearing-in ceremony before getting straight to work. According to local NBC affiliate, KCBD News:
“K9 Dodger indicated a suspicious scent in the 500 block of Calvert Avenue Spur, Texas. With probable cause to enter an abandoned camper, officers followed K9 Dodger, who alerted on a wooden box containing a white crystal substance in a clear plastic bag. The investigation revealed the substance was methamphetamine and weighed 14.3 grams.”
Not only is Dodger one heck of a police dog, his achievement helps prove Animal Farm Foundation’s motto: All dogs are individuals! As their website reads:
“We owe it to all dogs to see them for who they really are, free of prejudice, stereotypes, and assumptions that are based on a known pedigree, a breed label guess, physical appearance, or their past history.
The only way we can accurately determine what a dog needs is to look at the individual dog in front us for the answers. In other words, we can’t judge a book by its cover (even if that cover looks like other ones we’ve seen before)!”
There are currently no suspects or pending charges in the case. Spur Police are investigating.
H/T to KCBD News
Featured Images via Instagram @SpurK9Dodger
Toledo, United States.
