BLUEFIELD, W.Va. -For eight years the Bluefield West Virginia police department has had Thor by their sides.
From searches to apprehension Thor has done it all.
“Some of the things we do with Thor is any type of traffic stop, where officers think there may be narcotics involved or inside the vehicle. We utilize Thor to sniff the exterior of the vehicle to see if he smells the presence of narcotics. We also use him in our school system. Thor also, we take him into schools. Sometimes I’ll read a book to the kids, introduce them to the canine program, and talk to them about what the dog does,” said Lt. Brian Copenhaver with the Bluefield WV Police Department.
Thor along with the other two canines at the station provide protection, help along on the day to day and are also involved in the community.
“Well, I’m sure he’s a good stress reliever for the guys because the guys like to play with him, throw a ball with him, and, on top of that, it’s great to have that asset when you need a dog. If we needed to, you know, find somebody, he’s there. If we need to search a building, back in the day when he did that, he was there. Any of those things, plus he’s a huge deterrent. When people see the canine, a lot of times they immediately go, ‘oh, I give up,’ so, he’s a great asset in so many ways,” said Lt. Copenhaver.
Thor is such a beloved member of the police department he even has his own plushie.
“Whenever you have a dog like Thor, because he’s so good with kids, I mean, the kids love him. There’s just so many activities that we’ve done with him over the years. I can’t, I don’t even know how many pictures have been taken of him with kids. I mean, people want their picture with him all the time. We have kids come in constantly wanting photographs with Thor,” continued Lt. Copenhaver.
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