After nearly six years without canine officers, the Meridian Police Department added two new dogs on Friday, quickly putting both recruits to work tracking and sniffing out narcotics. 

“I always wanted to be (partnered with a canine) and when the opportunity came up I applied and was lucky enough to get it,” Joey Lawn, with two years of experience, said. “He’s an extra partner, he’s with me all the time.”

During the first week or so of the training, the 10-week school evaluates the personalities of the officers and tries to match them with the best dog fit for their personality. Lawn matched with friendly, laid-back Beny and Brittany Vallas, with 10 months at the department, matched with Koti, a “one-person, one-of-a-kind” dog.

“It’s like having another officer, he’s there all the time,” Vallas said. 

Lawn described the dogs as an extra level of protection for officers, capable of giving officers a few extra seconds in life-threatening situations that could save someone’s life.

As part of the training, the dogs, both Belgian Malinois dogs, learned to bite only at the command of Lawn or Vallas, spent time tracking various scents and worked in 9 below temperatures. Their handlers speak in Czech to communicate their commands, though the young dogs, 4-year-old Koti and 18-month-old Beny, are still learning. 

They’ll be learning much about police life on the job, which hasn’t given them much time to relax yet. 

Both have responded to narcotics calls, sniffing out vehicles of suspects, and Beny even tracked a missing person on Saturday despite graduating less than a week ago. 

For now, as the dogs and their partners adjust to their roles, the dogs sometimes wear muzzles as part of the final stage of their training. Eventually, the dogs will receive their own badge.

“You know he’ll have your back; he’s going to be there,” Vallas said. 

“I think I found my niche,” Lawn said. “It’s what I want to do.”