Dina is what you'd call a rookie. Just on the force a few weeks, she's learning the ropes as a narcotics canine. Her handler is Officer Jason Hall with the League City Police Department.
"I love animals; I love police work," said Officer Hall. "It's a good combination."
Dina is now one of three dogs in a canine program the department revived two and a half years ago.
"They're very vital to our department, especially with [Interstate]45 being one of the drug corridors," said Officer Gabe Gonzalez.
The department gave us an inside look at the intense weekly training the dogs and their handlers undergo all of it aimed at the apprehension of suspected criminals and the identification of illegal drugs.
"We've got the dogs where they'll take bites all the way up to here, but we don't train them to bite the head or neck. Everything is on the body. If we hit somebody with a baton, it's the same target area for the dog," said Officer Eric Cox with the League City Police Department.
"He's trained and certified on marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin," said Officer Jason Jones.
The commands are in Czechoslovakian, where the dogs are bred, and each dog with his or her own personality. Officer Jones is partnered with Chico.
"He's very high strung. He's very high strung. Usually people ask me how old he is. I tell them he's six and a half, going on two," said Officer Jones.
The dogs and their handlers are constantly learning last year the program netted 300 arrests most of them for narcotics. Dina is ready to add to that number.
"She'll stay still, she'll hit the odor and freeze and then she'll either sit or lay down, that's her alert," said Officer Jones.
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