Charlotte, Feb. 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Buick GMC recently donated a new canine to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. The dog is named Atarah a biblical reference for strong woman and is the newest member of the police canine unit. Addy for short, is a 3-year old Belgium Malinois Shepard Dog who joined the department via a gift from Scott McCorkle of Liberty Buick GMC of Charlotte. Addy is the second canine Scott has donated to the Charlotte police force over the years. The first canine 'Liberty" has since retired and is living on a farm outside the city.
"Police dogs make amazing partners to our law enforcers in the community," says McCorkle. "Many departments don't have the budget to bring in the canine support. We were excited that they asked us to help with this project."
Police dogs have become more popular in recent years; the demand
for high quality search, rescue and protection has increased since
9/11. Metropolitan areas like Charlotte and even small communities
have come to recognize the benefits these intelligent breeds bring
to a police force. "They provide any number of tasks
including patrolling for evidence, tracking and apprehending,
protecting their handlers, detecting narcotics and sniffing out
explosives. Many of the dogs have more than one specialty,"
says Officer Darrell Brown. Darrell is Addy's human partner
and has been on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Force for 24
years.
Many Police dogs or 'working breeds' are born overseas and are
vetted out early if they don't have the drive to retrieve. Addy was
born in Holland and then shipped to a breeder in Shallow Creek, PA
for simple training. However much of the real training is 'on the
job' according to Officer Brown who works with her daily.
They train for the detection of explosives, the imprinting of
smells and obedience skills. Addy is the fifth dog who
Officer Brown has worked with in his 24-year career. Only a
small portion of the general dog population is suited for training
as police dogs. Addy is truly unique.
As one might imagine this level of talent is not inexpensive. Police Departments that are lucky enough to have these specialty units rely heavily on private citizens to support them. Donations are often the only way these highly skilled 4-legged partners become members of the police force.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department currently has 14 canines matched up with officers. Eleven of these canine partners are trained to search for narcotics, or as street or patrol dogs; two are trained to identify explosives. They also have a bloodhound that is trained to track down anything. "We're very thankful to Scott McCorkle for his continued support of the canine program here in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department," says Officer Brown. These dogs are critical assets to any police unit. They can and do save lives every day."