STEELTON, DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. -- Steelton Borough's newest police officers are already proving their worth to the community.
The department’s first K9’s started patrolling the streets last month.
FOX43 met K9 "Noro", a 13-month-old Belgan Malanois mix. "Noro" means crazy in Czech, but the only thing crazy about K9 Noro is how much he wants to serve the community.
"We ended up getting two canines, and the first K9 handler, he was a veteran handler. So, he knew what he was getting into. So, he picked the one that didn't mean crazy and left me with Noro," said Officer Cody Webster, K9 Noro's handler. "After training went through, he's, I mean, he's calmed down. You can see. I mean, he listens well."
Noro has, quite literally, hit the ground running. Chief Anthony Minium says he helped officers catch a drug dealer, who ran from police.
"He went on foot pursuit; he actually broke into a house, broke out a window and went into the window that was occupied, and the person... Noro tracked him down, got in, and quickly apprehended him," said Chief Minium.
Minium says, so far, neither K9 has needed to bite anyone.
It's been a month on the beat together for Noro and Officer Cody Webster, who is new to being a K9 handler.
"Everyday is something new, but I think all K9 handlers can attest that is something they enjoy, you know? Figuring out what their dog is capable of, and I'm just going through the process and learning the dog, as well as learning yourself," said Webster.
K9 Noro is already trained to track smells, to sniff out drugs during traffic stops, and to assist with search and arrest warrants.
"Most importantly, the community service sort of things. We want them to be in the schools. We want them to be around town. We want them to be interacting with the community," explained Minium. "We don't want people to be afraid of them. It's been a busy couple weeks, and I hope it doesn't change. I hope it stays busy like this all the time because this is why we have the dogs."
Both K9’s will be ceremonially sworn-in on December 17th.