Canine unit adds 'officer'

Hondo, a 5-month-old German Sheppard, is the newest member of the Metro Canine Unit. His handler and trainer, Canine Officer Robert Brown, bought Hondo for $550 and donated him to the Metro Police Department.

Metro usually pays $4,000 per animal, which includes a guarantee for another one-year-old dog in case the issued animal does not qualify for training.

When Brown, who has trained dogs since 1998, saw Hondo, he decided to purchase the puppy to train him as his own partner.

But because of insurance reasons, officers are not allowed to train their own dogs and Brown donated him to the department.

Hondo still has to wait seven months until he is old enough to start the rigorous 14-week training program.

Canines are usually kept in kennels apart from the officers due to their aggressiveness.

Brown said he wanted Hondo to develop as a friendly dog before he got aggressiveness training, a necessary attribute in fighting crime.

Brown wants the puppy exposed to every possible situation before training starts and already takes him to work, where Hondo sneaks up on other officers in the coffee room and scares them.