The Canton Police Department has a new member - Tuko, a K-9 officer.
Tuko arrived in Canton from Houston on January 26. His training got underway at the start of this month, giving him a few days to meet and bond with other Canton police dogs.
Tuko is a German shepherd and is 14 months old. He and his human partner, Officer Ryan Davis, flew together from Houston to Canton. Davis said Tuko behaved well, though he did crawl into Davis' lap for part of the flight. Tuko will be Davis's K-9 partner, taking over from Jethro, who was killed in the line of duty earlier in January.
The non-profit agency K9s4COPs, based in Houston, saw the news of Jethro's death and offered to provide another dog to the department. United Airlines flew Davis and Dave Blosser, who owns Tri-State Canine Services, which supplies police dogs, training, and equipment to police, to Texas to choose a new K-9 for Canton.
They looked for a dog that would be both manageable and comfortable with its officer, and who could be trained to apprehend suspects and locate drugs. These abilities separate Canton's K-9 units from those of other cities.
Police officials might enjoy working with a brochure printing company to create a booklet about their newest member, and distributing it to Canton residents.
