Say hello to the newest addition to the UMPD team--a Labrador named Gator! Gator was the strongest candidate for the job, touting an impressive sniffer, and moved to Minneapolis from sunny Florida (a true testament to his dedication to keep the public safe). Here he is pictured with his new best friend/coworker Officer Allan Cunningham, who was also the strongest candidate for training and handling the canine cop.

Gator's specialty will be sniffing for bombs and other explosives before events hosted on campus by the University of Minnesota. He will also be the go-to man for tracking missing items and people from events. He went through rigorous training to qualify for this important job. Once Gator arrived, the two newfound friends spent every weekday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. learning how to work together to effectively handle a variety of potential scenarios they might encounter on the job.

Gator learned how to search through cars, track both people and items by scent alone, and also refreshed his memory on the doggy basics like sitting when commanded. Cunningham had his own tasks to complete during training, like passing the interview with the head of the canine unit, acting as a missing person for Gator to track down, and experiencing the pain of a full-blown dog bite (ouch!) The duo now lives together happily in Cunningham's house, and are ready to take on the challenge.

With a recent increase in terrorist attacks, there is a stronger preference for canine officers to have a specific specialty that they can master, such as bomb-sniffing, rather than cross training them. More dogs are being trained exclusively to detect explosives, like Gator is, than to become more traditional apprehension or "biting" dogs.

Bomb dogs are trained to be much friendlier and interact with people much better than apprehension dogs are. The supervisor of the Minneapolis Police Department’s K-9 Unit, Sergeant Charles McCree, commented on this recent shift toward bomb-sniffing dogs. "I think every department in the country is gearing up to have more bomb dogs than they’ve ever had before." Gator's hiring reflects this growing trend in our country. Bomb dogs are favored primarily because their potential to help prevent terrorist attacks – with a smile not a bite!

It is especially lucky that Gator will be fully trained and experienced come February of 2018.

“We recognize that there’s a need for high-level security for the campus and events we hold,” said UMPD Chief Matthew Clark. “Especially with the Super Bowl coming, we know that having a single-purpose explosive dog is important.”

It is always exciting to welcome a new member to the team, but is arguably even more so when the officer comes with a furry face and a wagging tail! Let's all wish Gator good luck on the journey he is about to embark upon!