The Grand Prairie Police Department's newest hire is a 2-year-old from Slovakia.
Cando the German Shepherd joined the department's special investigations unit just weeks ago.
Detective Josh Stelter said he's learning to make the pup his new partner in crime.
"How we're perceived by the public and how well we do isn't just on me anymore, it's also on this other creature with its own brain, its own thoughts," he said.
It is the first time Stelter has been paired up with a K-9 officer, and he said there are definitely some challenges to overcome.
"Cando taught me to be more patient and to trust him," he said. "He knows what he's doing, he's just going for his toy, and so he has no ulterior motives."
Stelter said Cando doesn't exactly think that he's working all the time. All he knows is that he loves his toy, and he'll do whatever he needs to do to get it back.
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But the dog, who has been trained to detect illegal narcotics, knows how to gets his work done, Stelter said.
"We may assist other agencies with dog sniffs," he said. "If their dog isn't available, we'll help patrol on dog sniff if they make a traffic stop and if they'd like to see if there's drugs in cars."
Stelter said funds seized from drug dealers were used to buy Cando, who cost approximately $12,000.
"[There was] no cost to the taxpayers," he said. "It's a long investment, and we can also use him to help us seize further assets, which makes our seizure fund grow, which means we're able to more aggressively go after drug dealers while not burdening the citizens with extra taxes."
Grand Prairie police have two other K-9 officers, but Cando is the only one assigned to the special investigations unit.
