In this edition of Career Callouts we meet Officer David Santiago as he tells us about his job on the K9 unit.
A K9 Police Officer is a law enforcement officer who works alongside a specially trained police dog to help in various policing duties.
K9 Police Officers use their dogs to assist in maintaining public safety, as dogs have highly developed senses, especially their sense of smell.
The dogs undergo extensive training in areas such as obedience, tracking, detection, and protection, and they work in a variety of environments.
While the police officers at the K9 units must have a solid understanding of law enforcement procedures and animal behavior. They are required to be physically fit, as they often engage in active and sometimes dangerous situations. Additionally, they need good communication skills, both with their dogs and their human colleagues.
A career as a K9 police officer requires prior experience as a law enforcement officer, and in some cases, additional training specific to k9 handling.
The average salary for a police officer in the U.S.. is around $63,000 thousand dollars per year.
Career Callouts featured in NewsDepth are funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.