Police officer rescues shelter dogs facing euthanasia and transforms them into K9 officers

A dog training group is rescuing dogs from shelters and giving them a second chance helping police fight crime. Many K9 dogs for police departments across the United States are sourced from breeders overseas and and trained in Europe. Such dogs cost departments tens of thousands of dollars, but dog trainer Brad Croft, founder of Universal K9 has a different approach.

Universal K9 is rescuing dogs from kill shelters and training them for police work. Brad and his mostly military-trained staff train the dogs for several weeks and learn how to detect drugs and explosives, do scent tracking and search and rescue work. Once the dogs have graduated, they are given to police departments for free.

So far this year, Universal K9 has rescued 60 dogs and are on track to saving 100. One dog recently saved is named Sadie. She’s a 5-month old mixed breed rescued off the streets and now is a star pupil in Brad’s program.


Another recent graduate is Remi. She’s now helping Cpl. Weseley Keeling of Dallas’ Midlothian Police Department’s canine unit sniff out narcotics and track people. He’s loving working with her.

"Remi is a saved dog,” Keeling told ABC News. “She’s proud of herself. I’m proud of her. … She’s wonderful. I can’t say enough about her, I really can’t."

Brad said the few dogs they are rescuing is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of dogs euthanized in shelters ever year. But through support from the community and fundrasing they are doing what they can. Said Brad, "All they need is a chance to prove themselves and these dogs will work every bit as hard as the purebred dogs that we bring in from overseas."
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