This past spring, two brand new deputies joined the Clay County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. But these recruits were out of the ordinary, having four legs, furry bodies, a desire to serve, and a keen sense of justice. However, unlike many K9 dogs who serve with police departments, the dogs that Clay County hires aren't expensive, foreign dogs but pit bulls rescued from shelters who desperately needed a new "leash" on life.
Starting out the new class of K9 officers are two formerly homeless pit bulls, Phantom, a black and white dog, and Sarah, a tan and white pup. The department rescued both dogs and trained them to assist narcotics officers in drug detection. While K9 officers are nothing new to police departments, Clay County is especially proud of the fact that their dogs are rescued pit bulls.
The administration feels it's important for people to know that the pit bull breed, when treated and trained, is an exceptional breed perfect for police work.
Clay County Sheriff's Office stated, "What will be the most shocking to some will not be that Clay County Sheriff's has the new K-9 Deputies, but rather their breed. Even though pit bulls get a bad rap in the media, they aren't all bad dogs and can do great things for the communities they serve."
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Rescuing and training pit bulls like Sarah and Phantom has a dual benefit, according to the department. First, it helps to save dogs who have been held in shelters for excessively long periods of time, with some facing euthanasia due to shelter space constraints. Sarah was pulled by the Animal Farm Foundation, while Phantom was saved from a Texas shelter by UniversalK9. Now both pups have happy homes and a purpose in their daily lives.
Secondly, by rescuing and training dogs, Clay County is saving its taxpayers some cash. The department stated on their Facebook page that:
"The K-9s themselves were free, and the training was free all provided by grants from Animal Farm Foundation and Universal K9. The hotel, per diem, collars, leashes, harnesses, food, crates and other K-9 expenses were paid for by drug seizure money. The only money coming out of the Sheriff’s Office Budget was fuel for the vehicle that was driven to Midlothian Texas and the pay for the 2 Deputies that attended the training. So instead of paying $30-$40,000 dollars that would have been typical with most departments the Sheriff’s Office spent a fraction of that."
Furthermore, the department notes how much was also saved on rescuing two pit bulls as opposed to purchasing more expensive dogs: "The two foundations have taken on the mission to show that Departments do not need to spend $15-$20,000 for a purebred German shepherd or Belgian Malinois to search and find illegal drugs, at the same time giving dogs destined for a life in a shelter or euthanasia a second chance at life serving Law Enforcement Officers and Departments around the country."
Sarah and Phantom are trained only in narcotics detection. They will never be used to track down criminals or be trained in bite work. UniversalK9 and the Animal Farm Foundation only work to rehome pit bulls who will not be trained in either of these areas due to the stigma attached to the breed. The department states, "They [the rescue groups] want to show the country and the world the loving and caring nature that most of us have experienced with our Pitbull’s and show that the pound puppies have what it takes to go up against and sometimes exceed their expensive pure breed cousins."
Recently, Sarah and Phantom have received upgraded protective equipment to keep them safer while they are open the job.
Three cheers to Clay County for their forward thinking and their compassionate stance toward pit bulls in need of homes and professions. We hope that many more police departments follow their lead in the future. Share this story with your dog-loving friends and family on Facebook.