KENT, Ohio — A Kent K-9 cop is pulling double duty.
Matous, a 2-year-old Golden Retriever, is trained to sniff out firearms and provide support to students.
“When he’s a working dog, that’s what he’s doing and he loves it, he absolutely loves working. But that switch just flips and he’s on the floor and scratch his belly, it’s just the best of both worlds,” said George Joseph, Superintendent at Kent City Schools.
Joseph came up with the idea as an alternative to arming teachers. Joseph has been in the education field for 42 years and it has changed.
“It changed from welcoming people into buildings to locking those doors during the day and keeping people out,” he explained. He had an idea to add another layer of security to Kent schools.
“I was looking for an alternative to arming teachers,” Joseph said. That’s when he reached out to the Kent Police Department. Working together they found Matous.
“Around here, I don’t know of another dog doing both,” said Officer Dominic Poe about Matous's two jobs at Kent schools. Poe is also the school resource officer, and his new partner is making a difference already.
“I’ve got kids that every single day come to my officer, they want to see the dog,” Poe said.
The adorable animal is also helping police officers connect to the community.
“Some of what’s gone on in society over the past couple of years, there is more of a distrust of the police than we’ve seen in the past. So to be able to use something like a dog to help us bridge that gap and build relationships with people in the community, especially high school-aged kids, is really an awesome thing," said Chief Nicholas Shearer, Kent Police Department.
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