VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — The Valdosta Police Department is welcoming their newest K-9 Patrol, Iva. She's a 2 year-old shepherd mix trained to sniff out narcotics, recover evidence, track ground disturbances, and apprehend a fleeing felon. Her instructor, Officer Turner, just completed a nine-week K-9 Instructor School with Iva. There, he learned problem solving skills and can now train new K-9 Patrols for the police department.
K-9 Officer, James Turner, said "it's a different kind of bond than a human bond, it's just the dog and the handler, it's very hard to explain, it's a very emotional bond that we have with the dogs."
There are six K-9 officers at the Valdosta Police Department. Five in charge of narcotics and patrol, and one bomb-detection dog.
