The Poughkeepsie Police Department is Adding a New Member to Its K9 Team: A Pit Bull, Named Kiah

The Poughkeepsie Police Department (located approximately 85 miles outside of New York City) is adding a new member to its K9 team – a dog named Kiah.

But what makes this canine so special is the breed. While must dogs that join the police force are German shepherds and Belgian malinois to chase suspects and sniff out drugs, or beagles and bloodhounds to track scents, this police department decided to welcome a pit bull to the team.

Kiah (pronounced KY’-uh) will be used to sniff out drugs and find missing people. It is reported that she is also an ambassador for her breed and police.

“The breed isn’t important,” Brad Croft, a dog trainer for law enforcement agencies and the military, told The AP.  “It’s what’s inside of the dog that’s important.”

Croft rescued the dog from a Texas animal shelter after her previous owner was arrested for animal cruelty. In partnership with Croft’s company San Antonio-based Universal K9, an Austin animal shelter and Animal Farm Foundation, a sanctuary in New York, Kiah was provided to the police department free of charge (often K9-trained dogs can cost up to $15,000.)

Croft told the AP he often looks for dogs in shelter to train for police departments and chose Kiah after a staff member “recognized something special in the dog.”

The dog’s human partner is Officer Justin Bruzgul, who told the AP, “She wants to work. She’s high-energy. Affectionate. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

While often pit bulls get bad raps, they are also known to be very sweet, loyal and eager to please. George Carlson, the Ulster County sheriff’s deputy who trained Kiah in Stone Ridge, N.Y. told the outlet he believes she is the only pit bull on the East Cost working for a police department and is a sweetheart. He added,  “Dogs are individuals. They have their own personalities, just like people.”

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Labs Reigned as the Nation's Top Dog Last Year for the 24th Year: But Bulldogs Are Close Behind

America's fondness for Labrador retrievers is still setting records, but bulldogs are breaking new ground.

Labs reigned as the nation's top dog last year for the 24th year after breaking poodles' decades-old record in 2013, according to American Kennel Club rankings set to be released Thursday. But bulldogs have hit a new high — No. 4 — and their bat-eared cousins, French bulldogs, sauntered into the top 10 for the first time in nearly a century.

German shepherds, golden retrievers and beagles are holding their own in the top five, with Yorkshire terriers, poodles, boxers and Rottweilers filling out the top 10. Dachshunds slipped from 10th to 11th.

Bulldogs' rise is no surprise to fans who extol their unmistakable, push-faced expressions and generally calm demeanors.

"They just have such character," says Bulldog Club of America communications chairwoman Annette Noble. The breed is known for being gentle but resolute — given direction, a bulldog may well want "to think about it first and decide whether it's worth it," as Noble puts it.

The smaller, less jowly French bulldog — sometimes dubbed "a clown in the cloak of a philosopher" — has surged from 49th to 9th in a decade.

Frenchies were No. 6 in the decade of the 1910s, but their prevalence later waned. Then appearances in movies, TV shows and advertising raised their profile in recent years.

Labrador retrievers hit the top 10 in the 1970s and haven't left since.

Originally bred to fetch game, Labs have proven able and willing to play virtually any canine role: search-and-rescue and police work, agility and other dog sports, guide and therapy dog work, and sensitive family companion. Breeder Micki Beerman recalls one of her Labs winning over a hesitant child by gradually moving closer, until the child began to pet the dog.

"They're just very intuitive," said Beerman, of Brooklyn. "They kind of know when you need them."

The AKC doesn't release raw numbers, only rankings. They reflect puppies and other newly registered dogs.

Dog breeding draws criticism from animal-rights activists who feel it ends up fueling puppy mills, siphons attention from mixed-breed dogs that need homes and sometimes propagates unhealthy traits.

The AKC says that its breed standards and recommended health testing help responsible people breed healthy dogs and that knowing breed characteristics helps owners choose a pet that's right for them.

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Dog Breeds That Bite The Most Along The Front Range

Denver - A six-month long investigation into numerous animal control, police and shelter databases by 9Wants to Know and I-News at Rocky Mountain PBS uncovers a never-before understanding of dog bites along the Front Range, revealing which dogs bite the most, where they bite and how severely.

The unprecedented data of dog-bite cases collected by 9Wants to Know and I-News revealed the top five dog breeds that bite the most along the Front Range.

To read more on this story, click here: Dog Breeds That Bite The Most Along The Front Range FOLLOW US!

Military Dogs Euthanized as 'Equipment' Under Cruel Law

If roadside bombs and other hazards of war don't kill military dogs, senseless government regulations and red tape might.

The United States is breeding 100 puppies a year to train for bomb sniffing and other soldierly duties, but many aren't making it back to happy homes because an obscure federal law classifies them as "equipment" rather than personnel, and makes adopting them a financial and bureaucratic nightmare. A bill to require that the military ship the heroic dogs home and ease potential veterinarian costs for adopting families is currently bogged down in Congress, as dogs continue to be euthanized.

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