A New York shelter called the Animal Farm Foundation is helping to give rescued pit bulls a new shot at life. The organization partners with a group called Universal K9 to train the dogs to work with police.
On Tuesday, the two groups showcased one of the K9s at the National Sheriff’s Association Convention in Reno. The dog's name was Tweaker. She was once a sheltered pit bull and now she's a part of the Grimes County Police Department in Texas, fully trained and certified in sniffing out drugs.
"She's got several good arrests, several good narcotics arrests and so far she's done really well, I’m impressed," says Steven Siracusa.
On Tuesday, Tweaker demonstrated her ability to locate a cotton ball that smelled like marijuana. She went three for three in finding the odor, sitting down each time she found it.
"They know that if they do right, they find the narcotics, they get their tennis ball which is everything to them."
Siracusa is Tweaker's handler who’s a K9 detective of four years. Previously his companion on the job was a Labrador but he says Tweaker's work is helping to blur the lines of what a police dog should look like.
"As long as the dog has the drive and the capability, it can do the same kind of work as a lab or a shepherd."
Universal K9 is trying to spread the same message. Pit bulls often get a bad reputation for being an aggressive breed, but Brad Croft hopes their training can erase that bad stigma.
"These dogs are the exact opposite of what people have painted them out to be," says Croft. "You just refocus that energy into a positive versus a negative."
Sergeant Phil Jones with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office says while they applaud the work Universal K9 is doing, the size of Washoe County requires K9’s with a larger set of skills.
“Our dogs will track, find lost children, lost people and do narcotics, so we get just a little more bang for our buck to dual purpose," says Jones.
Croft says a purebred, purpose bred dog can traditionally cost upwards of $20,000 for police work. Rescue dogs like K9 Tweaker are free to police.
