CHUCKEY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A new, four-legged officer is patrolling the South Central Elementary School grounds.
K-9 Daisy, a four-month-old German Shepherd, was originally surrendered to the Appalachian Highlands Humane Society. Now, Daisy works alongside her handler, School Resource Officer Andy Edwards with the Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office (WCSO).
“We knew we wanted to add a third dog for our school programs, and we had a School Resource Officer [Edwards] volunteer to became a K-9 handler,” said Sheriff Keith Sexton in a press release.
Two other Ambassador dogs, sisters Karma and Pheonix, work at Boones Creek and Jonesborough Schools. Daisy makes the third dog working in a Washington County, Tennessee School, the release stated.
“Ambassador dogs serve an important purpose in our schools,” said Sexton. “Kids love dogs. They’ll approach a dog before they’ll approach a deputy.”
According to Sexton, Ambassador K-9s are trained in the following American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Standards:
- Accepting a friendly stranger
- Sitting politely for petting
- Accepting grooms/an examination from somebody other than the owners
- Reacting politely to other dogs
- Sitting and lying down on cue and staying in place
- Coming when called
- Walking on a loose leash
- Reacting calmly to a distraction
- Reacting calmly to supervised separation from the owner
The WCSO has five working K-9s. Mafia, Ronin and Rico are narcotics, article and apprehension dogs; Balu is a kinetic detection dog and Arlo is a tracking dog.
Sexton said plans are in place for the sheriff’s office to acquire more narcotic dogs this fall.
