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.”
