by Regina Lizik, Animal Farm Foundation

Former shelter and rescue dogs are benefiting local police and sheriff’s departments as top-notch narcotics detection dogs—and their services can be free of charge, thanks to the Detection Dog program of the Animal Farm Foundation (AFF).

AFF  grants funds to Universal K9 to train shelter and rescue “pit bull” dogs for detection work. These two organizations have placed dozens of dogs in police departments throughout the United States.

While these dogs do make a statement about the stereotypes and myths surrounding dogs labeled “pit bulls,” they have the greater purpose of positively impacting the communities in which they serve. As detection dogs, these expertly trained animals work alongside their police officer partners to keep drugs off the streets and out of the hands of community members, including kids. Just listen to what these officers are saying.

Officer Lance Brawner of Toccoa, Georgia, remarked that his K9, Tucker, “has helped with getting a good amount of narcotics off of our streets. That would not have been possible without him.”

In addition to incredible results these dogs achieve, one of the greatest benefits to the cities and towns that participate in the program is the cost – or more accurately, the cost saving. Animal Farm Foundation provides detection dogs to police departments free of charge. Purebred police dogs can cost departments more than $20,000. The partnership between Animal Farm Foundation and Universal K9 saves taxpayer dollars.

Departments are often hesitant to use shelter dogs as K9s, but once they see AFF’s dogs in action, they have no more doubts. Red Oak, Texas, Police Chief Garland Wolf told a local media outlet:

“I was a canine handler for 14 years and I am a certified trainer as well. In my experience, I was a little skeptical in bringing in a non-traditional breed. When I saw this dog [K9 Wilson] work with the speed and accuracy that he had it really kind of took me back a little bit in how functional he was.”

According to Dallas Independent School District Officer Jody Bullard, his K9 partner, Athena, helps forge better police-community relations. He and K9 Athena work to keep drugs out of local schools. He said:

"It has benefited the community a great deal by impacting young kids and bringing them closer to the police department as a whole with the help of Athena's presence. Hopefully after they meet Athena, they walk away with a better outlook on police officers."

K9 Kiah, who works in Poughkeepsie, New York, with Officer Justin Bruzgul and became a viral internet sensation last year, has a similar effect. Officer Bruzgul told us:

“Everyone knows K9 Kiah and stops to say hello, young and old alike. She is a positive influence on the relationship between the city of Poughkeepsie Police Department and the citizens it serves.”

For Officer Lucky Huff, who also works with a K9 named Wilson, the program has done more than bring the people of McCurtain, Oklahoma, together. He shared with us why he feels so strongly about police departments using AFF detection dogs:

"The first and most obvious way the program helped us was the fact that it was at no cost to the community. The best thing about having K-9 Wilson is that he did not just benefit one community. He has brought several communities together because other agencies have contacted us to do searches for them as well, thus creating a partnership between our communities.”

The mission of AFF is to secure equal treatment for all dogs and their owners. AFF believes that giving back to communities across the country is one way to accomplish this goal. With everything AFF-sponsored detection dogs provide, there is no downside to making them a part of police departments. They save money and lives and help create a closer community.