A Caring 5 Year-Old Helped Turn A Rescue Dog Into An K9 Police Officer.

A PBS article published in 2012 referred to dogs as ‘Olympic sniffers’. According to scientists, dogs’ sense of smell are 10,000 to 100,000 times as acute as ours! It’s no wonder that some canines become K-9 officers as part of the police force. They can be much more reliable than we are for tracking criminals, sniffing out illegal materials, searching buildings, and so much more! Dogs can even tell identical twins apart by scent. Did you know that some police dogs start out as rescue dogs? Such was the case for Bosco, the newest member of the City of Ankeny Police Department in Iowa. As a puppy, Bosco lived on the streets until he was brought to a shelter in Syracuse, Indiana. The Ankeny Police Department launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring Bosco over and employ him as a new K-9 unit. The community – private individuals and local businesses alike – supported the project and contributed past the initial goal of $20,000. Most heartwarming of all were the efforts of Tristan Sommerfield, a 5-year-old Ankeny resident, who helped raise $1,500 through his own fundraising campaign, Tristan’s Troops. **Watch the November 24, 2015 press conference below and congratulate Bosco and his new community on a job well done!**