LOWER SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Belgian Malinois named Arrow went from a New Jersey animal shelter to becoming a Pennsylvania police department’s first K9 since the 1960s, thanks to the patience and vision of just the right humans. Deb Bucci, an animal attendant at the Burlington County Animal Shelter, knew there was something special about Arrow, who lived in the shelter for eight months, the Burlington County Times reported.
Arrow had been surrendered twice to the shelter since early last year. One owner said Arrow didn’t get along well with the family’s other animal; another found Arrow to be to overprotective of his wife.
“Their brains, especially in the Malinois, are continuous, and when they are locked in the kennel they go crazy,” Bucci told the newspaper.
A Facebook post led her to Angela Connor, the co-founder and chief financial officer of the Rescue 22 Foundation, which trains dogs to help disabled veterans.
“I knew that was very unlikely that Arrow would be a fit for a service dog,” Connor told the Times. “I came in and evaluated Arrow and decided that a lot of the behavior that most people would find challenging was actually exactly the behavior we’re looking for to develop into police work.”
Arrow was confident, intelligent, very eager to please his human and had a strong drive to work for food and toys.
BUCKS COUNTY: Lower Southampton's Police Department just grew by one (well four legs to be exact). After being surrendered to the @BurlCoNJ, K9 Officer 'Arrow' has a new home and new job thanks to two special rescuers who wouldn't give up on him. @CBSPhilly at 11pm. @LSPD43 pic.twitter.com/LboVIZQgkv
— Alicia Roberts (@ARobertsCBS) May 6, 2021
After months of training at Rescue 22, Arrow was ready for his shot. Last fall, Lower Southampton Township Patrolman Kyle Heasley partnered with Arrow, now trained as both a patrol and narcotic detection K9, according to the Burlington County Times.
“Everybody in the community is very supportive and very happy that we now have a police dog,” Heasley told the Times. “The department’s happy, so are all the fellow officers. He’s been a great addition to the department.”
K9 Arrow now works and lives with Heasley, his new best bud, Fox News reported.
“He is just like a family dog when we go home. He knows when to turn it off. He knows when we go to work,” Heasley said.