Department’s first-ever explosives dog sniffs out threats for Georgetown police

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – The newest officer at Georgetown Police Department has four paws.

Clayton, the department’s first-ever explosives dog, is a 2-year-old chocolate lab mix. He joined the force in May alongside handler Officer Tyler LaRue.

“Anytime there’s a bomb threat, suspicious packages or devices, large events like our festival of the horse for example he can do pre-event sweeps,” said LaRue.

Clayton went through 16 weeks of training before meeting LaRue, then they did another 6 weeks of training together.

LaRue said the rise in bomb threats means Clayton will have his paws full.

“At face value it’s probably a hoax, but it’s better we have a tool like this versus putting more officers at risk, opening things and not knowing what’s going on,” said LaRue.

Clayton is a rescue dog from Casey County. LaRue, a self-proclaimed ‘dog lover’ said he loves that about his new partner.

“To see him go from a rescue to a police officer K9 is pretty awesome,” said LaRue.

The department also has a narcotics dog and an electronics detection dog.