The Atascadero Police Department has announced that a new K9 officer is joining their team.
His name is Maverick, and his handler's name is Ryan Goudy.
As of Aug. 6, 2024, Maverick has been on patrol for about a month.
He just finished six weeks of basic patrol K9 school as well as narcotics detection school.
Goudy told KSBY that Maverick has been performing very well so far and that he has a long career ahead of him.
“We can send him places that officers can't necessarily get to. He's smaller, faster and more agile than most of us. So it's another safety component that we can use at our at our disposal," says Goudy.
Maverick has already helped in the arrest of a convicted felon by successfully locating drugs in their car, according to a Facebook post by the Atascadero Police Department.
The post also mentions that Maverick sounds like a snapping turtle when he plays with his toys.
